Hong Kong consumer confidence rises to record high in July

    ANZ-Roy Morgan Hong Kong Consumer Confidence rose to a record high of 137.6 in July.
  In terms of personal finances, 40.3% (up 2ppts) of respondents said their families are "better off" financially than this time last year, a new record high for this indicator, compared to 9.4% (up 1.5ppts) that said their families are "worse off" financially.
  Now 43.5% (down 0.2ppt) of respondents expect their families will be "better off" financially this time next year, compared to only 8% (down 0.2ppt) that expect their families to be "worse off" financially.
  Thinking of economic conditions in Hong Kong going forward, 57% (down 1.2ppts) expect Hong Kong will have "good times" economically over the next 12 months, compared to just 11.7% (up 0.1ppt) that expect "bad times".
  In addition, 59.1% (up 1.4ppts) of respondents expect Hong Kong will have "good times" economically during the next five years, also a record high, and just 10.9% (unchanged) expect "bad times", the lowest level ever recorded for this indicator.
  Also now 35.2% (up 1.9ppts) of respondents say now is a "good time to buy" major household items in Hong Kong while 7.1% (up 1.3ppts) say now is a "bad time to buy" major household items.
  Inflation expectations edged down by 0.1ppt to 3.4% in July.
  "Thanks to Chinese government's efforts to rescue the stock market and positive development in Greece, Hong Kong's consumer sentiment held up in July. Interestingly, the rejection of political reform proposal at the Legislative Council did not have negative impact on household confidence." said ANZ's economist Louis Lam.
  "That said, changing spending pattern of tourists will continue to weigh on retail sales which has contracted 1.8% in the first five months this year. The poor retail outlook will add downward pressure on rental rate of ground-level outlets." Lam added.