HONG KONG, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday announced that it has lowered the base rate to 4.5 percent with immediate effect.

The move came after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points.

The Base Rate is the interest rate forming the foundation upon which the discount rates for repurchase transactions through the discount window are computed. ■