How far did the Hong Kong dollar fall in each crisis? Under 1% every time
Across five crisis episodes since 1997 the Hong Kong dollar's monthly average never moved more than 0.8% against the US dollar. That makes the exchange rate the wrong place to look for the shock — this note shows where it went instead.
How far did the Hong Kong dollar fall in each crisis?
By less than 1% in every one of the five episodes. The table below uses the monthly average of the Hong Kong dollar against the US dollar from a single series, measured from the base month to the highest monthly average in that window (BIS bilateral rates).
How far did the Hong Kong dollar fall in each crisis?
Depreciation
Shared linear scale from zero. Selected entries from the table below. Its dates, units, definitions and limitations still apply.
| Episode | Base month | Peak (monthly average) | Depreciation | Time taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Asian financial crisis | 7.7445 (Jun 1997) | 7.7759 (Dec 1999) | +0.4% | 30 months |
| 2008 global financial crisis | 7.8073 (Jun 2008) | 7.8083 (Aug 2008) | +0.0% | 2 months |
| 2020 Covid | 7.7729 (Jan 2020) | 7.7749 (Feb 2020) | +0.0% | 1 month |
| 2022 tightening | 7.7923 (Jan 2022) | 7.8497 (Oct 2022) | +0.7% | 9 months |
| 2024–2026 | 7.7911 (Sep 2024) | 7.8498 (Jul 2025) | +0.8% | 10 months |
Twenty-six years of monthly averages fit inside a band about nine-tenths of one per cent wide. For this market the interesting question is not how far the rate moved, but what happened instead.
All figures are monthly averages, not daily closes or intraday extremes. Daily trading regularly touches the edges of the Convertibility Zone without moving a monthly average much, so a table like this understates day-to-day activity by design. The base month is fixed at June 1997 for every market so the episodes can be compared. The site's calculators use a different exchange-rate series from this table, so decimals may differ slightly; do not mix the two series in one table.
If the rate did not move, where did the pressure go?
Into money and credit. Under a linked exchange rate an outflow is settled through the monetary base rather than through the price of the currency, so the adjustment appears in the money aggregates instead.
| Twelve months to | Hong Kong M2 | HKD/USD monthly average |
|---|---|---|
| December 2008 | -1.25% | 7.7505 |
| June 2022 | -2.78% | 7.8482 |
| June 2023 | -0.11% | 7.8321 |
| June 2026 | +2.65% | 7.8375 |
In the twelve months to June 2022 Hong Kong’s broad money shrank 2.78% while the exchange rate moved by less than one per cent. Read the two columns together and the 2022 episode stops looking uneventful.
This is the practical point for a reader here. A stable exchange rate is not the same thing as a stable monetary environment. If you are budgeting in Hong Kong dollars, the cost of money can change substantially in a period when the currency itself is flat, and the exchange rate will not warn you.
Hong Kong operates a Linked Exchange Rate System, in which the Hong Kong dollar is kept within a Convertibility Zone against the US dollar and interest rates follow US rates rather than local conditions ([HKMA](https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/key-functions/money/linked-exchange-rate-system/)). That design is why the first table looks the way it does. This paragraph interprets the arrangement; the figures in the tables are observations from the monthly exchange-rate and money series.
Was Hong Kong unusual in 1997?
Yes, and by a very wide margin. The table below measures from June 1997 to each currency’s own peak using the same method.
| Currency | Depreciation from Jun 1997 | Time taken |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesian rupiah | +467.4% | 13 months |
| Thai baht | +116.0% | 7 months |
| Malaysian ringgit | +75.2% | 7 months |
| Philippine peso | +66.0% | 15 months |
| Taiwan dollar | +24.5% | 14 months |
| Singapore dollar | +23.1% | 14 months |
| Hong Kong dollar | +0.4% | 30 months |
For a reference outside the region, the Korean won fell 90.4% in seven months. Hong Kong and Indonesia went through the same regional crisis and their exchange rates recorded events that are not comparable at all — which is the clearest available demonstration that an exchange-rate table describes a policy regime as much as it describes a shock.
What to check when reading these numbers
Start with the basis of measurement. Monthly averages, daily closes and intraday extremes give three different answers for the same event. This page uses monthly averages throughout so that five episodes stay comparable.
Then check the base month. Change the base month and the percentage changes immediately. This table uses one set of base months for every market, which makes cross-market comparison possible but does not line up with the dates on which individual countries changed policy.
Finally, separate the exchange rate from purchasing power. A currency that does not move against the US dollar can still lose purchasing power at home, because local prices are set by local costs and by the cost of imports from everywhere else — not only from the United States.
Questions & answers
How much did the Hong Kong dollar fall in the 1997 Asian financial crisis?
On a monthly-average basis, 0.4%. The rate went from 7.7445 in June 1997 to a high of 7.7759 in December 1999. Over the same period the Thai baht rose 116.0% and the Indonesian rupiah 467.4% against the US dollar.
Has the Hong Kong dollar ever left its range?
Not on a monthly-average basis since January 1999. The lowest monthly average since then is 7.7430 in October 2003 and the highest is 7.8498 in July 2025. Individual trading days can sit at either edge of the Convertibility Zone without changing the monthly average much.
If the exchange rate did not move, where did the crisis show up?
In money and credit rather than in the currency. Hong Kong's M2 contracted 2.78% in the twelve months to June 2022 and 1.25% in the twelve months to December 2008. Under a linked exchange rate, an outflow is settled through the monetary base and interest rates instead of through the rate itself.
Why do the numbers here differ from the rates quoted in the news?
This page uses a single monthly-average series across the whole table so that five episodes can be compared on one basis. News reports usually quote daily closes or intraday extremes, which sit further from the middle of the range.