HK retail sales drop 9.8% to HK$34.7bn in March

    Hong Kong's value of total retail sales in March, provisionally estimated at HK$34.7 billion, dropped 9.8% compared with the same month in 2015, according to the Census and Statistics Departmenr.
  The revised estimate of the combined value of total retail sales in January and February declined 13.6% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the first quarter of 2016, the value of total retail sales fell 12.5% compared with the same period in 2015.
  After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales in March shrank 8.8% compared with a year earlier. The revised estimate of the combined volume of total retail sales in January and February dropped 12.4% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the first quarter of 2016, total retail sales decreased 11.3% in volume compared with the same period in 2015.
  A government spokesman indicated that retail sales remained weak in March, with many types of retail outlet registering year-on-year declines in sales. The slowdown in inbound tourism continued to pose a severe drag, and the uncertain economic outlook and asset market consolidation had conceivably also hurt local consumption sentiment. Looking ahead, the near-term outlook for retail sales will continue to depend on the performance of inbound tourism, and on the extent to which the local consumption sentiment is affected by the headwinds arising from the subpar economic conditions and external uncertainties.