(IDEX Online) - Hong Kong's sales of watches, jewelry, clocks and other valuable gifts leapt 23.1 per cent in January, buoyed by an early lunar Chinese New Year and Covid relaxations.
It follows a yo-yo 2022, marked by dramatic monthly drops (-35.9 per cent in April) and increases (30.1 per cent in July).
Sales for January 2023 were $566.8m, the highest figure for three years, according to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It does not provide more detailed breakdowns.
Retail sales across all sectors rose by seven per cent during the month. The watch and jewelry category was second only to Chinese drugs and herbs (38.5 per cent).
January 2023 captured sales for the New Year, which usually falls in February. Hong Kong benefitted from the end of China's zero-Covid policy and from the lifting of its own remaining restrictions, including public mask-wearing.