FX.co ★ Hong Kong Retail Sales Hit 3-Month Low

Hong Kong’s retail sales rose 6.4% year-on-year in April 2026, easing from 9.8% in March and marking the slowest annual growth since January. The moderation reflected continued declines in sales of food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-1.0% vs -0.4% in March) and fuels (-27.9% vs -27.5%). Growth also weakened for clothing, footwear and allied products (5.9% vs 7.8%), consumer durable goods (27.4% vs 42.4%), and other consumer goods (7.5% vs 10.8%), while department store sales swung into contraction (-6.6% vs +1.2%).

By contrast, supermarket sales returned to growth (2.3% vs -0.1%), and trade in jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts inched up (6.5% vs 6.4%). On a month-on-month basis, retail sales fell 7.8%, following a downwardly revised 4.6% decline in March. This was the third consecutive monthly drop and the steepest in the current downturn.