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Hong Kong’s retail sales fall 1.2 per cent to HK$128.4 billion as external uncertainties continue to weigh on consumer sentiment
- Year-on-year drop in quarterly sales follows trend of sluggish economic growth
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Hong Kong’s retail sales fell 1.2 per cent in the first three months this year as external uncertainties continued to affect consumer sentiment, with the doom and gloom expected to last until the fourth quarter.
The year-on-year drop in quarterly sales, to HK$128.4 billion (US$16.5 billion), unveiled on Friday, followed the trend of sluggish economic growth as the effects of the US-China trade war continued to reverberate.
On Thursday, the government reported an estimated 0.5 per cent rise in gross domestic product for the first three months this year, the smallest increase since the third quarter of 2009.
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In March, estimated retail sales edged down 0.2 per cent to HK$39.7 billion from a year earlier – the second month in a row a decline was recorded.
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Across the retailing spectrum, daily goods such as medicines and cosmetics and commodities in department stores fared better than pricey items such as jewellery, watches and clocks in that month.
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