Following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its benchmark rate, Hong Kong’s monetary authority keeps its base rate unchanged
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenEnoch YiuPublished: 7:09am, 30 Jul 2026Hong Kong’s monetary authority has maintained its base rate following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key rate unchanged.
The city’s base rate was kept at 4 per cent by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday. Hours earlier, the US Federal Reserve also retained its target rate in the range of 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent, concluding its fifth Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this year.
“For some households, businesses and market professionals, five years of high inflation have left a mistaken impression that’s hard to shake, that the Fed’s implicit inflation target was somehow above 2 per cent,” Fed chairman Kevin Warsh said in a media briefing after hosting his second FOMC meeting.
“Let me reiterate: there is no soft inflation target. There is no soft implicit target, not on this committee’s watch. There’s only a target, and it’s 2 per cent.”
The Fed’s decision was widely expected, with 67.9 per cent of traders forecasting no change, while the rest expected a 25 basis point rate rise, according to CME FedWatch data based on Fed funds futures contracts on Wednesday.
“No hike at this moment is slightly positive for Hong Kong’s real estate and stock market,” said Tommy Ong, the managing director of T.O. & Associates Consultancy. “However, the magnitude of the price rise will be limited because the next US inflation readings are very uncertain.”
