Recovery drives HK jewellery sales
Retail sales in some product categories, including jewellery, rose in August, thanks to improving fundamentals in Hong Kong, the city’s Census and Statistics Department reported.
Sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and other valuable gifts reached HK$3.3 billion (around US$420.4 million) in August, up 4.3 per cent from the same period last year. From January to August, jewellery sales were up 0.8 per cent year on year to HK$24.89 billion (around US$3.17 billion).
Overall retail sales meanwhile dipped 0.1 per cent to HK$28.6 billion (around US$3.64 billion) in August while January to August figures were down by 1.5 per cent to HK$226.73 billion (around US$28.88 billion).
The government attributed the year-on-year decrease in total August retail sales to a higher base of comparison, adding that retail sales value continued to rise on a seasonally adjusted month-to-month comparison.
“The moderating local epidemic situation, improving labour market conditions and the Phase II Consumption Voucher Scheme will continue to support consumption sentiment and demand in the near term, but the increasingly tight financial conditions will pose constraints,” explained the government.
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