Hong Kong steps in to defend peg for the first time since August

Lower interest rates relative to the greenback have made shorting the Hong Kong dollar a lucrative trade

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank bought the local dollar for the first time since August after the city’s exchange rate fell to the weak end of its trading band against the greenback.
 
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought HK$1.507 billion ($192 million) of local currency during London and New York trading hours, it said in a statement on Saturday.
 
The main reason for the currency’s decline was a significant widening in the interest rate gap between the Hong Kong and US dollars, HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Howard Lee said in the statement. He said it wouldn’t be