Hong Kong: Private-sector operating conditions deteriorate in August
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 49.8 in August, up from July’s 49.4. As such, the index remained below the 50.0 no-change threshold, signaling a continued—albeit slightly softer—deterioration in private sector operating conditions from the previous month.
In August, new orders declined again—including those from mainland China—with output and employment also falling and business sentiment worsening sharply. More positively, cost pressures for private-sector firms eased, while export orders as a whole rose despite weak mainland Chinese demand.
Jingyi Pan, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:
“Weakening demand, including a renewal of the contraction in new business from Mainland China, was central to the slowdown in Hong Kong SAR. Although business activity eased only marginally, which was to be expected with the impact of higher interest rates globally upon economic conditions, the sustained decline in new order inflows signals that output may remain subdued in the coming months. This was further outlined by renewed pessimism among private sector firms in August, which does not bode well for the near-term outlook.”