Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Hong Kong Plows $1.2 Billion Into Defending Currency to Little Effect — The city’s dollar traded near HK$7.85 per greenback at 12:23 p.m. local time, the level that can spur buying by the de facto central bank. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has spent HK$9.7 billion ($1.2 billion) mopping up local dollars since the weak end of the band was reached on Thursday for the first time since 2005. The pace of intervention shows outflows are bigger than people had thought, according to China Everbright Bank Co.
“The pace of HKMA’s buying is a bit faster than we expected,” said Ngan Kim Man, deputy head of treasury at China Everbright Bank’s Hong Kong branch. Outflows are likely to accelerate as the U.S. further tightens monetary policy, which will finally boost short-end rates in Hong Kong, Ngan said.
