Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has released the Hong Kong export index of second quarter 2014 recently saying that in general, exporters’ confidence remained slightly negative while jewellery exporters were basically neutral with regard to short-term sales prospects. The export index of jewellery was 49.5 which remained the same as Q2 2013 while that of timepieces was slightly dropped to 43.1 comparing to 46.2 of the same period last year.
In terms of markets, the report said export sentiment in Japan, the United States and Mainland China hovered at the watershed of 50, while the European market was with the lowest reading of 47.5. Mainland China saw the most significant drop among the major markets to 49.4 from 52.7 of the same period 2013.
The trade value indexes of jewellery and timepieces section were 54.3 and 53.9 in Q2 2014, sharp drops from 62.3 and 65.4 of second quarter of 2013.
The employment index in the jewellery industry (52.9) expects labour expansion over the short-term while timepieces reported the lowest reading at 45.1, signaling a possible labour contraction.
(Thumbnail courtesy: HKTDC)
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