Hong Kong Blames Trade Spat for Worst Retail Sales in 17 Months

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong retail sales growth slowed in November, and dampened sentiment from the trade tensions between U.S. and China is partly to blame, the government said.

• Retail sales value rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier in November, the slowest growth since June 2017, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Retail volume rose 1.2 percent, which was also the slowest increase in 17 months.
• The median economist estimates for retail sales value and volume were 4.5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

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• Luxury brand Tiffany & Co. reported lower sales contribution from Chinese tourists in the Americas and Hong Kong in the third quarter, while growth inside China’s domestic market accelerated from previous quarters.
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in November that Chinese consumer growth will likely to normalize and "move more onshore" as Hong Kong has started to lose share.

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