Excerpt:
The CBI’s retail sales index rose slightly in July 2025 but stayed weaker than expected, showing UK retailers are still battling tough economic conditions. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s import growth slowed in June as demand shifted across sectors and trading partners.
📉 UK Retail Sales: Modest Improvement in July
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest monthly retail sales gauge brought a hint of relief for UK retailers. The index climbed to -34 in July, improving from June’s 17-month low of -46. However, this figure still missed analysts’ expectations of -26, underlining how high prices and ongoing economic uncertainty continue to drag on consumer spending.
Retail sales volumes have now fallen for ten consecutive months, reflecting the squeeze on household budgets. Looking ahead, retailers are slightly more optimistic about August, with the measure of expected sales rising to -31, compared to -49 a month earlier.
🌏 Hong Kong Imports: Growth Cools in June
Hong Kong’s imports climbed 11.1% year-on-year to $476.7 billion in June 2025, according to the Census and Statistics Department. While this marks another month of growth, it was the slowest rate in five months, down from May’s sharp 18.9% rise.
Imports surged from Vietnam (+50.6%), the United Kingdom (+44.7%), mainland China (+17.3%), Thailand (+15.9%) and the United States (+3.9%). However, imports from South Korea saw a sharp decline (-27.1%).
By product category, there were broad gains in key sectors:
- Electrical machinery, apparatus and parts rose 14.6% (vs 23.7% in May)
- Telecommunications equipment increased 17.7%
- Office machines and data processing equipment rose 9.8%
- Miscellaneous manufactured articles grew 12.6%
- Power-generating machinery jumped 38.7%
In contrast, declines were recorded for non-metallic mineral manufactures (-15.6%), professional and scientific instruments (-9.4%) and petroleum-related products (-10.5%).
📌 Sources
