The Hong Kong dollar was trapped in a narrow range on Friday as the market waited for US non-farm payrolls data later in the day for clues about interest rate trends.
The currency was quoted at 7.7554/55 per US dollar little changed from 7.7552/53 in late Asian trade on Thursday after moving in a tiny six-pip range.
The US jobs report is forecast to show that 210,000 new jobs were created in November after a modest 56,000 in October, according to a Reuters poll. "Recent US (economic) data was strong and if the payrolls figures come out better than expected, it could reaffirm expectations for continued rate increases by the Fed," said a dealer from a European bank.
Hong Kong tends to follow US rate moves because its currency is pegged to the US dollar.