Hong Kong's January exports probably stayed soft: Standard Chartered

Quotes from Standard Chartered:

-Hong Kong will announce January trade data on 26 February. We forecast export growth at 1.0% y/y, up from 0.6% in December, as recovering shipments to the US offset persistent weakness in exports to Europe and China.

-Disappointing January trade numbers reported by China, Hong Kong's biggest trading partner, lend a downside bias to Hong Kong's numbers.

-The timing of the Lunar New Year holiday,in January last year and February this year, could boost the January numbers. We expect import growth for January to come in at 2.5% y/y, translating into a trade deficit of HKD 25bn.