Hong Kong's May Retail Sales by Value Up 0.5%; Missing Expectations

Hong Kong's retail sales by value rose for the third consecutive month in May, up 0.5% from a year earlier, as local consumption demand remained resilient, the Census and Statistics Department said Thursday.

The growth rate was higher than April's 0.1% rise but below the median 1.5% growth forecast of five economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Hong Kong's retail sales by volume rose 0.7% in May from the previous year, reversing from April's 0.1% decline but missed the survey's median forecast of a 1.3% increase.

The outlook for retail sales in the near term will depend on the recovery of inbound tourism and local consumption sentiment, a government spokesman said.

Write to Chester Yung at chester.yung@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2017 05:09 ET (09:09 GMT)