The Hong Kong dollar hovered near the bottom of its recent range against the US unit on Tuesday afternoon in moderate trading volume as investors awaited this week's US employment report for fresh leads. The local currency eased to 7.7998/99 per US dollar 7.7997/98 this morning and a shade weaker than the previous close.
"There was thin activity on arbitrage plays some people kept to the sidelines ahead of this Friday's US jobs data and the FOMC meeting next week," said a dealer from a local bank.
The market is looking ahead to the key US non-farm payrolls report for July, due on Friday, for hints on the strength of the US economy.
The report will be the last major data to be released before the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting on August 10, when the US central bank is expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points.
Speculation has grown that Hong Kong banks will likely raise interest rates if the Fed hikes rates again in August.