Hong Kong leaves base rate unchanged at 4.75% as US Fed defies Trump’s rate-cut pressure
The HKMA keeps its base rate at 4.75 per cent after the Fed left the target range at 4.25 to 4.5 per cent
On Thursday, the HKMA maintained its rate at 4.75 per cent, hours after the Fed left its target range between 4.25 per cent and 4.5 per cent during the fifth Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the year. The Fed has stood pat on rates for five meetings in a row, defying Trump’s pressure to cut the cost of funds.
The HKMA said there were a number of variables guiding US interest rates.
“It would depend on the trend of the US inflation, employment data, alongside the implication of the tariffs and other fiscal policies to the economy,” the HKMA said in a statement on Thursday.
“There are many, many uncertainties left to resolve,” Fed chairman Jerome Powell said after the FOMC voted 9-2 in favour of keeping its target rate unchanged. “It doesn’t feel like we are very close to the end of that process.”