The Hong Kong dollar edged higher on Thursday amid some US dollar selling in late afternoon trade, partly due to a rise in short-dated interbank rates on a liquidity squeeze. The local currency was trading at 7.8047/49 per dollar at 0855 GMT, up 0.01 percent from late Wednesday trade in Asia, after hitting a session high of 7.8040.
The Hong Kong currency is pegged at 7.8 to the US dollar and can trade between 7.75 and 7.85. In the interbank market, the overnight rate rose to 1.20/1.30 percent and the one-week rate climbed to 1.70/1.75 percent on a liquidity squeeze.