Meanwhile, the overnight Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate, the local money market benchmark better known as Hibor, soared to 6.5%, its highest ever.
The Hong Kong dollar climbed to its strongest level in three and a half years, thanks to a year-end surge in demand that pushed the currency’s short-term borrowing costs to a record high.
The city’s currency, which is pegged to the US dollar, touched 7.7609 per US dollar on Monday, a level unseen since June 2021. The move has taken its December gain versus the greenback to 0.3%.
