HK July exports value down 5.1%; imports down 3.3%

    Hong Kong's value of total exports of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) for July dropped 5.1% over a year earlier to HK$304.5 billion, after a year-on-year decrease of 1% in June, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
  Within this total, the value of re-exports fell 5.1% to HK$300.6 billion in July, while the value of domestic exports dipped 5.8% to HK$3.9 billion. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods dropped 3.3% over a year earlier to HK$337.8 billion in July, after a year-on-year decrease of 0.9% in June. A visible trade deficit of HK$33.3 billion, equivalent to 9.9% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in July.
  For the first seven months of 2016 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods dropped 4.1% over the same period in 2015. Within this total, the value of re-exports declined 3.9%, while the value of domestic exports slid 14.5%. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods decreased by 5.2%. A visible trade deficit of HK$232.9 billion, equivalent to 10.6% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first seven months of 2016.
   A Government spokesman noted that the decline in the value of merchandise exports, on a year-on-year basis, widened somewhat in July, after having narrowed in the preceding months, reflecting unsteady global demand conditions. Nevertheless, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of merchandise exports in May to July saw some increase over the preceding three months. The spokesman commented further that looking ahead, the external trading environment is still challenging, as global economic growth will likely remain modest in the near term and fraught with uncertainties, including those arising from Brexit, US interest rate normalisation, monetary policy divergence among major central banks and heightened geopolitical tensions in various regions.