Hong Kong’s de facto central bank increased its base rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised its target range for the federal funds rate to tackle inflation amid conflict in the Middle East. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) raised the city’s base rate to 4.25 per cent, hours after the Fed lifted its target range to between 3.75 per cent and 4 per cent after the sixth meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year. The moves...