The Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) said in a statement yesterday that it has revised its base rate downward by 50 basis points, i.e., 0.50 percentage points, to 5.25 percent.
The revision took effect yesterday.
The statement pointed that that “under the linked exchange rate system, Macau’s base rate is set at part with Hong Kong’s base rate, which is either 50 basis points above the lower end of the target range of the US Fed funds rate or the average of the five-day moving averages of the overnight and one-month Hong Kong interbank offered rates, whichever is the higher”.
Also yesterday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cut its best lending rate to 5.25 percent, hours after a rate cut of the same magnitude by the US Federal Reserve.
Public broadcaster RTHK yesterday quoted Mackie Lau, the co-head of treasury markets at Standard Chartered, as saying that she expects the Fed to cut US rates by another half a percentage point in November.
Macau’s pataca is indirectly linked to the US dollar as it is directly pegged to the Hong Kong dollar which, in turn, is directly linked to the greenback.
