HKMA again leaves key interest rate unchanged
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday again kept its key interest rate unchanged at 5.75 percent, saying “high rates may last for some time”. The move by the city’s de facto central bank came in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve which earlier kept its target rate at a two-decade high of between 5.25 and 5.5 percent, citing “hotter-than-expected” price pressures as well as growth reports. In a statement, HKMA said the Fed “has not yet gained enough confidence about the US inflation trajectory to start cutting interest rates”. “The high interest rate environment may last for some time,” it added. The authority said the city’s financial and monetary markets are operating in a smooth and orderly manner, but warned that the interbank offered rate (Hibor) may remain high for the time being.  “The public should carefully assess and manage the relevant risks when making property purchase, mortgage or other borrowing decisions,” it said. HSBC took the lead among the city's banks in leaving its prime lending rate unchanged at 5.875 percent, while keeping interest rates on Hong Kong dollar savings accounts steady. Meanwhile, the one-month Hibor rate, which is used to price the majority of local mortgages, slightly rose to 4.34 percent, a three-week high. The three-month Hibor rate, which reflects banks’ funding costs, also rose slightly to a three-week high, at 4.58 percent. The HKMA and the Fed have kept their key lending rates unchanged since last July, after increasing them 11 times since March 2022.