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Hong Kong's Trade Deficit Narrows to HK$4.9 Billion in July

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Hong Kong's Trade Deficit Narrows to HK$4.9 Billion in July

Hong Kong's trade deficit for July significantly narrowed to HK$4.9 billion from HK$52 billion in June as exports, although slowing down from the prior month, was still ahead of imports due to the ongoing popularity of artificial intelligence.

Data from the Census and Statistics Department published Tuesday showed that the value of total exports jumped 50.7% to HK$672.5 billion, weaker than the 53.4% growth in June. The value of total imports rose 41% to HK$677.4 billion, lower than the 45.4% increase in the prior month.

A government spokesperson said that demand for AI-related electronic products was a major driver to the growth in exports.

When it comes to merchandise, office machines and automatic data processing machines are Hong Kong's biggest exports during the month, soaring 106.5%, while shipments of electrical machinery and equipment jumped 54%.

For imports, non-ferrous metals topped the list as its import value surged 242.5%.

The U.S. is still Hong Kong's biggest exporting partner as shipments to the world's biggest economy grew 92.9% from a year earlier, while total exports to Asia rose by 54.6%.

Meanwhile, Korea was the top importer as imports soared 146.6%, followed by India and the United Kingdom, which surged 110.7% and 106.3%, respectively.

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