The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank, stepped into the currency market on Tuesday, selling HK$ 6.2 billion (US$ 800 million) in Hong Kong dollars as the local currency repeatedly hit the strong end of its trading range.

According to Reuters data, the latest intervention will lift the aggregate balance – the sum of balances on clearing accounts maintained by banks with the HKMA – to HK$ 214.529 billion on December 13.