Hong Kong Retail Sales Drop for 9th Month

Retail sales in Hong Kong decreased by 8.3% year-on-year in November 2024, slipping further from a downwardly revised 4.8% decline in the previous month.

This marked the ninth consecutive month of falling retail activity, as sales fell further for food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-1.6% -1.3% in October), department stores (-12.3% vs -11.1%), and other consumer goods (-3.4% vs -2.5%).

Additionally, trade declined sharply for consumer durable goods (-21.5% vs 6.1%).

In contrast, sales dropped slower for fuels (-10.7 vs -14.7%), supermarkets (-1.1 vs -5%), clothing, footwear and allied products (-1.2% vs -5.9%), and jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (-9.3% vs -17.7%).

On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped by 3.2%, following a 10.9% surge in October.