MACAO - Base Rate of the Discount Window in China's Macao Special Administrative Region has been lowered by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent, the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) announced here on Thursday.

The AMCM said as Macao's pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar and the movements of policy rates in the two special administrative regions should be basically consistent, it followed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to lower the Base Rate of the Discount Window, which ended the local policy rate upcycle starting from December 2015.

The Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar under a similar linked exchange rate system.

US Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, trimming the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent.