Hong Kong: Retail sales gain steam in December
Latest reading: Retail sales rose 5.1% on a year-on-year basis in December, following a 4.4% rise in the prior month and marking the sixth straight month of expansion. However, sales are still well below their 2018 peak, due partly to an incomplete recovery of tourist arrivals since then.
Relative to the previous month’s data, readings in December improved for supermarkets (+0.6% on a year-on-year basis vs -3.5% in November) and jewelry, watches and valuables (+1.1% vs -5.9% in November). In contrast, readings worsened for fuel (-22.3% vs -17.0% in November), food and alcoholic beverages (-0.4% vs -0.1% in November) and clothing and footwear (-7.6% vs +1.5% in November).