Hong Kong: Retail sales decelerate in January
Latest reading: Retail sales increased 3.3% on a year-on-year basis in January, following a 5.0% rise in the prior month. This was the seventh straight month of growth after a prolonged period of contraction, though sales are still well below their 2018 peak.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, readings in January worsened for fuel (-25.0% on a year-on-year basis vs -21.9% in December), supermarkets (-5.6% vs +0.6% in December) and food and alcoholic beverages (-10.7% vs -0.4% in December). In contrast, readings improved for clothing and footwear (+5.3% vs -8.4% in December) and jewelry, watches and valuables (+10.7% vs +1.1% in December).