Hong Kong weakens its dollar amid capital gains
A westerner walks past a currency exchange shop in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has moved to weaken its dollar amidst an influx in capital from Western investors, lowering its currency for the first time in three years.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold $603 million worth of Hong Kong dollars in the foreign exchange market to slow its dollar's rise, Agence France Presse reported.
The Hong Kong dollar is currently trading to its US counterpart at $7.75, the upper limit of where it is allowed to trade against the greenback, BBC News reported. The dollar trades between a narrow limit of $7.75 and $7.85.
More from GlobalPost: US Election: What if Hong Kong could vote?
This is the first time since 2009 that Hong Kong has moved to intervene in its dollar's valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The recent increase in demand for the local currency is related to a less strained European market, weakness in the USD and declining US interest rates, which have prompted capital inflows into currency and equity markets in the region," an HKMA spokesman said in a statement, Reuters reported.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?