HK retail sales is evidence to Asia's bottoming out

The 8.5% growth is good news.

According to BBVA Research, it was reported that Hong Kong’s September retail sales were better-than-expected, growing by 8.5% (consensus: 5.8%) on a year-on-year basis, above its outturn the previous month (3.2% y/y).

Here's more from BBVA Research:

Retail sales were boosted by the front-loading of consumption activity before the early National holiday in October: sales of holiday related food items as well as sales of jewelry and watches were notably stronger.

The outturn appears to be a positive, however given the timing of the holiday it may be partly due to seasonality, therefore we will be closely watching next month’s outturn for further evidence that an actual rebound is occurring.

Looking ahead, we expect to see further firming in retail sales during the course of the remainder of this year as Asian economies are showing signs of stabilization even in the midst of a challenging global environment.