Hong Kong Retail Sales by Value Rise in March, Ending Two Years of Declines

Hong Kong's retail sales by value rose 3.1% in March from a year earlier, ending two years of declines, as visitor arrivals recovered and local consumption was robust, the Census and Statistics Department said Friday.

The rise in March improved from the combined 3.2% decrease for January-February, and was better than the median 1.4% decline forecast by five economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Hong Kong retail sales by value has been declining since March of 2015.

Hong Kong's retail sales by volume rose 2.7% in March from a year earlier, compared with a 3.6% fall in January-February, and better than the survey's median forecast of a 1.5% decline.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2017 05:10 ET (09:10 GMT)