Hong Kong's retail sales value up 0.5%

Thanks to jewellery sales going up by 1.4%.

The value of total retail sales in May, provisionally estimated at $35.9 billion, was up 0.5% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales increased 0.7% year-on-year.

The sales value of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased 1.4%.

This was followed by commodities in department stores (+3.8%); medicines and cosmetics (+2.5%); food, alcohol and tobacco (+3.1%); other consumer goods (+3.4%); motor vehicles and parts (+8.3%); fuels (+0.6%); furniture and fixtures (+3.8%); Chinese drugs and herbs (+10.4%); and, optical shops (+2.8%).

The sales value of commodities in supermarkets decreased 1.1%, followed by apparel (-0.4%); electrical goods and photographic equipment (-14%); miscellaneous consumer durable goods (-12.1%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-3.2%); and, books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (-1%).

The department said retail sales increased slightly in May over a year earlier, reflecting the relative improvement in inbound tourism and the resilience of local consumption demand.