Hong Kong retail sales slump by widest margin since January

Retail sales in Hong Kong declined for a sixth straight month in August due to a slowdown in inbound tourism and sluggish economic conditions.

The value of total retail sales in August declined 5.4 per cent year on year to HK$37.9 billion, following a 2.8 per cent drop in July, according to the latest figures from the Census and Statistics Department.

The fall was the biggest since January's year-on-year decline of 14.5 per cent.

The government said on Friday that the tourism downturn and recent stock market gyrations might have dented consumer sentiment.

The total number of visitors dropped 6.6 per cent to 5.6 million in August, while the largest source of visitors -from the mainland - declined by 7.1 per cent.

The spokesman also said the different timing of the MidAutumn Festival, which fell in late September this year but early September last year, pushed back some sales and added weakness to the performance in August.

Sales of Chinese drugs and herbs recorded the biggest drop of 17.4 per cent among the various sectors.