The seasonally adjusted headline IHS Markit Hong Kong
Purchasing Manager’s Index™ (PMI™) fell to 39.3 in October,
down from 41.5 in September, signalling the worst deterioration
in the health of the private sector since November 2008.
The headline PMI is a composite single-figure indicator of
economic performance derived from indicators for new orders,
output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks
of purchases. Any figure greater than 50.0 indicates overall
improvement of the economy.
Not only did business activity across the private sector shrink
further in October, but the rate of decline was the fastest since
the survey began over 21 years ago. According to anecdotal
evidence, protest-related disruptions continued to dampen
economic activity, particularly in the retail and tourism sectors.