US-China trade war hits Hong Kong hard, with imports and exports continuing to slide in April
- Exports fell for the sixth month in a row, down 2.6 per cent year on year, while imports fared even worse, down 5.5 per cent on last April
- More trouble is expected in the coming months as the headwinds of the trade war continue to buffet the city’s economy
Hong Kong felt more pain from the US-China trade war in April when exports were revealed to have dropped by a worse-than-expected 2.6 per cent on the same time last year. It was the sixth month in a row they had fallen, with more trouble expected in the coming months.
Imports fared even worse, down 5.5 per cent in April year on year, having contracted for five straight months, the Census and Statistics Department said on Monday.
ING Greater China economist Iris Pang said the April figures were far worse than what she had estimated, which was a 1.5 per cent fall in exports and a 0.5 per cent drop in imports.
“The trade war escalated in May with fresh tariffs while Huawei was dragged further into the dispute,” she said. “This means Hong Kong’s external trade will further decline, especially in exports, which could tumble by double digits in May.”
In April, Hong Kong’s exports fell to HK$321.5 billion (US$41 billion) while imports shrank to HK$356.6 billion, leaving a trade deficit of HK$35.1 billion.
