(Bloomberg) --
Hong Kong's exports plummeted the most in more than a decade in January, as the government warned of further weakness in the coming months with the full force of disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak still ahead.
Exports sank 22.7% in January from year-ago levels to HK$269.4 billion ($34.6 billion), the most since February 2009, according to a government release. Exports had increased in December to halt a 13-month streak of declines.
Imports in January dropped 16.4%, to $300 billion, for a 14th straight retreat. The trade deficit narrowed to HK$30.6 billion.
The weakness was blamed in part on distortions resulting from the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January this year and February in 2019, the government said in the release.
“Looking ahead, despite some easing in U.S.-Mainland trade tensions lately, the global economic recovery is still fragile and fraught with uncertainties,” the government said. “Of particular concern is the threat of the novel coronavirus infection, which will heavily weigh on regional production and trading activities. Hong Kong's merchandise exports will face a very austere external trading environment in the coming few months.”
--With assistance from Matt Turner.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Jodi Schneider
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