2020.07.2709:30:00UTC+00Hong Kong Exports Fall Further

Hong Kong's merchandise exports decreased at a softer pace in June, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Monday.

Exports fell 1.3 percent year-on-year in June, following a 7.4 percent decrease in May. Shipments declined for the fourth consecutive month.

Imports declined 7.1 percent annually in June, following a 12.3 percent fall in the previous month.

The trade deficit narrowed sharply to HK$33.34 billion in June from HK$55.18 billion in the same month last year. In April, the deficit was HK$13.73 billion.

For the January to June period, exports decreased 6.9 percent year-on-year and imports fell 9.4 percent. The trade deficit was HK$175.18 billion.

"The moderated year-on-year decline in merchandise exports in June mainly reflected a pick-up in exports to the Mainland," a government spokesman said.

Exports to the US, EU and many other major Asian markets fell by varying degrees amid a deep global recession, the spokesman added.

The government sees the continued spread of COVID-19 in various parts of the world as a key threat to the global economic outlook and the increasingly tense China-US relations have also added uncertainties, he said.