Hong Kong intervenes again to weaken local dollar
2012-10-30 16:54:30
Hong Kong's de facto central bank on Tuesday intervened in the currency market for the fifth time in two weeks as the local dollar hit its upper trading limit against the greenback.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold HK$2.71 billion (US$350 million) in the forex markets after the US dollar hit HK$7.75.
The authority is obliged to act by buying or selling the local dollar whenever it touches either side of the HK$7.75-HK$7.85 trading band against the US dollar, to which it has been pegged for 29 years.
The intervention is the fifth by HKMA since October 19.
The HKMA made multiple interventions to weaken the local currency in 2008 and 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, as traders moved into the Hong Kong dollar, which was seen as a safe haven.