Hong Kong’s exports fell for a ninth consecutive month last month as demand for goods from China and the rest of the world remained weak, weighing on the territory’s post-pandemic recovery.
Overseas shipments dropped 8.8 percent from a year earlier, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department said yesterday.
Still, that was much better than the median estimate of a 28 percent fall in a Bloomberg survey of economists, with declines in shipments to mainland China and the US not as severe as in recent months.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Imports decreased 4.1 percent from a year earlier, compared with economists’ expectations of a 23 percent drop. The trade deficit was HK$45.4 billion (US$5.78 billion).
An expected “moderation” of growth in advanced economies this year “will continue to weigh on Hong Kong’s export performance in the near term,” a government spokesman said in a statement accompanying the data release.
Declines in shipments were recorded across Asia last month, with exports to Japan down 23.1 percent year-on-year. Exports to India dropped 18.5 percent, while shipments to Taiwan and Singapore fell more than 14 percent each.
Exports to mainland China dropped nearly 13 percent, although that was far improved from declines in January and December of 30 percent or more. Shipments to the US fell 1.2 percent.
“The accelerated recovery of the mainland economy, coupled with the removal of cross-boundary truck movement restrictions between Hong Kong and the mainland, should alleviate part of the pressure,” the spokesman said.
The territory’s exports have been on a downward slide for months because of waning demand from China and the rest of the world. January’s plunge in shipments was the worst in 70 years.
Other trade-reliant economies, including Taiwan and South Korea, have also posted poor export figures in recent months, in part because China’s reopening has yet to generate a boost in demand.
China’s economy would maintain a certain level of growth, and the country would speed up a transition toward higher-quality growth, Chinese state media quoted Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) as saying yesterday.
“Global economic development is at a complex and difficult period. China should solidify confidence and stabilize expectations in the face of challenges” Li was quoted as saying while meeting with foreign delegates at the China Development Forum in Beijing.
Hong Kong is trying to mount a recovery this year after recording its third annual GDP contraction since 2019.
Economists recently raised their median forecast for Hong Kong’s GDP expansion this year to 3.4 percent from an earlier estimate of 2.7 percent, on the expectation that China’s rebound would spur growth and spending.
Early recovery signs included a 7 percent rise on retail sales from a year prior in January, higher than estimates. The government is also handing out more cash vouchers to help domestic consumption.
Hong Kong stocks closed lower yesterday, extending the losses seen on Friday as concerns persisted about the health of the global banking sector.
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.75 percent, or 347.99 points, to finish at 19,567.69, while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.44 percent, or 14.26 points, to 3,251.40.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
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