Monetary Authority lowers base rate to 4%

The decrease followed a 25-basis point downward adjustment in the US federal funds target.

The base rate has been set at 4%, the Monetary Authority announced.

The decrease followed a 25-basis point downward adjustment in the target range for the US federal funds rate on 10 December, the authority said.

The base rate is the benchmark interest rate used to compute the discount rates for repurchase transactions through the discount window, it added.

It is currently set at either 50 basis points above the lower end of the prevailing target range for the US federal funds rate, or the average of the five-day moving averages of the overnight and one-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rates, whichever is higher.