2022.03.2812:10:00UTC+00Hong Kong Export Growth Eases In February

Hong Kong's merchandise exports and imports rose at softer paces in February and the trade deficit widened, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Thursday.

Exports rose 0.9 percent year-on-year in February, after an 18.4 percent increase in January.

Imports gained 6.2 percent annually in February, after a 9.6 percent increase in the previous month.

The trade deficit rose to HK$32.108 billion in February from HK$14.699 billion in the same month last year. In January, the surplus was HK$6.648 billion.

"Taking the first two months of 2022 together to remove the distortion caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, the value of merchandise exports continued to post double-digit growth over a year earlier," a government spokesman said.

On a month-on-month basis, exports shrank 31.7 percent and imports decreased 23.6 percent in February.