FX.co ★ Hong Kong Q1 GDP Growth at Over 1-Year High

In the first quarter of 2025, Hong Kong's economy grew by 3.1% compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary estimates. This growth surpasses the revised 2.5% increase observed in the final quarter of the previous year and represents the most robust expansion since the last quarter of 2023. The growth was largely driven by a resurgence in tourism and a significant jump in exports in anticipation of the extensive tariff increases proposed by Donald Trump. Specifically, exports of goods saw a notable surge, climbing by 8.7% compared to 1.3% in the fourth quarter, while services experienced a slight increase, reaching 6.6% from 6.5%. Regarding imports, goods saw a substantial rise of 7.4% against a previous 0.4%, though services imports decelerated to 6.2% from 8.3%. Furthermore, gross domestic fixed capital formation rebounded, showing a 2.8% increase from a negative 0.7%. However, household consumption saw a sharper decline, decreasing by 1.2% after a marginal fall of 0.2%, and government expenditure growth slowed to 1.2% from 2.1%. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy grew by 2%, marking the most significant quarterly growth in two years and an improvement from the revised 0.9% gain in the prior quarter.