HK economy sags 0.5% in Q2
Source: Bloomberg News |
August 13, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HONG Kong's economy shrank for the first time since the global financial crisis after exports grew at a slower pace.
Gross domestic product fell 0.5 percent in the second quarter of this year from the previous three months, seasonally adjusted, the government said in a statement yesterday. That compared with a revised 3.1 percent expansion in the three months ended March and economists' median estimate of a 0.4 percent gain.
In more signs of weakness in the global recovery, Japan cut its growth forecast, France said its economy stalled in the second quarter, and Greece reported a contraction. Hong Kong's benchmark stock index is down more than 20 percent from a November high after sinking confidence sparked a worldwide rout in equities.
"Poor consumer and business sentiment in the US and Europe will continue to drag on Hong Kong's growth, as the trade outlook looks grim," said Raymond Yeung, a Hong Kong-based economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
The high base for comparison in the previous quarter contributed to the decline, the government said. It maintained a forecast for growth of 5-6 percent for the full year, saying that Asian and emerging economies should outperform developed nations. Officials also maintained an inflation forecast of 5.4 percent.
The economy grew 5.1 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, less than a median estimate of 6 percent.
Gross domestic product fell 0.5 percent in the second quarter of this year from the previous three months, seasonally adjusted, the government said in a statement yesterday. That compared with a revised 3.1 percent expansion in the three months ended March and economists' median estimate of a 0.4 percent gain.
In more signs of weakness in the global recovery, Japan cut its growth forecast, France said its economy stalled in the second quarter, and Greece reported a contraction. Hong Kong's benchmark stock index is down more than 20 percent from a November high after sinking confidence sparked a worldwide rout in equities.
"Poor consumer and business sentiment in the US and Europe will continue to drag on Hong Kong's growth, as the trade outlook looks grim," said Raymond Yeung, a Hong Kong-based economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
The high base for comparison in the previous quarter contributed to the decline, the government said. It maintained a forecast for growth of 5-6 percent for the full year, saying that Asian and emerging economies should outperform developed nations. Officials also maintained an inflation forecast of 5.4 percent.
The economy grew 5.1 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, less than a median estimate of 6 percent.
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