China News Service, June 7. According to Hong Kong's "Wen Wei Po", following the rebound in retail sales and foreign trade exports in April, the latest S&P Hong Kong Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in May rose from 51.7 in April to 54.9, which is Since March 2011, it has reached a new high in more than 11 years, and it has also risen for two consecutive months.

Data map: Night view of Central, Hong Kong.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei

　　The report pointed out that, benefiting from the stabilization of the epidemic in Hong Kong, the growth of order demand and output of enterprises accelerated in the middle of the second quarter.

Respondents said that the issuance of consumer vouchers has a stimulating effect on local business, and export demand has rebounded as the epidemic continues to ease, reversing the continuous decline in April.

　　On the price front, input costs continued to climb in May as procurement costs rose alongside wages.

Survey data show that the soaring costs of raw materials and transportation have driven purchase price inflation.

On the other hand, companies adjust their employees' salaries based on different reasons such as inflation.

To ease the burden, companies once again passed some costs on to customers, but overall inflation slowed from the previous month.

　　Pan Jingyi, deputy director of S&P Global Markets Financial Intelligence Economics Research Department, commented that the recovery of Hong Kong's private economy will trigger a new round of expansion of employment and procurement activities.

The pent-up demand in the market has gradually been released, but price and supply pressures have not been exacerbated, which is a positive sign and continues to show that the Hong Kong economy is recovering strongly in the second quarter.

The recent trend predicts that the business environment will further improve, and the overall business sentiment is expected to remain good.

　　Xie Jiaxi, an economist at DBS Hong Kong, pointed out that the epidemic situation in Hong Kong has stabilized and exports and other data have rebounded in an all-round way. As long as there is no more epidemic in Hong Kong, I believe that the PMI index will remain above 50 in the next few months, and the business environment will improve overall.

　　Bloomberg Economics also pointed out that the current economic recovery has enough momentum to move forward, partly supported by the government's issuance of the second batch of electronic consumer coupons.

　　Store and restaurant foot traffic stabilized at 15% below pre-pandemic levels in the week ended May 29, remaining near its highest level since late January, the study said.

On a monthly basis, retail store traffic averaged less than 16% below pre-pandemic levels in May, up from 26% in April and 41% in March.

Official data released on June 1 showed retail sales rose 11.7% in April from a year earlier, reversing a 13.8% decline in March.