The FINANCIAL — Hong Kong’s retail sales by value fell by a sharper-than-expected 6.4% in September from a year earlier, official data showed on November 3, amid weak inbound tourism and China’s economic slowdown, according to Nasdaq.
The decline was greater than August’s 5.3% fall and was worse than the median expectation for a 5.8% fall according to four economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The value of Hong Kong retail sales has been in contraction for seven months in a row.
Hong Kong’s retail sales by volume fell 3.1% in September from a year earlier, worsening from August’s 0.1% fall, which was in line with the survey’s median forecast for a 3.1% decrease.
“Looking ahead, retail business will likely be still constrained by the weak performance of inbound tourism in the near term,” a government spokesman said in a statement. “Much will also depend on how the dimmer global economic outlook will affect the economy and local consumer sentiment going forward,” the spokesman added.
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