Hong Kong retail sales plunge record 44% in February

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past sale signs displayed in the window of a store on Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, March 16, 2020.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s shops and businesses buckled under the full force of the coronavirus outbreak in February as retail sales plummeted by the most on record amid growing travel restrictions and social-distancing measures.

Retail sales by value fell 44% in the month, the largest drop on record, to HK$22.7bil (US$2.93bil) according to a government release. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a median 40.3% decline.