Hong Kong falls into first recession in 10 years

Hong Kong slid into recession for the first time in a decade in the third quarter, weighed down by increasingly violent anti-government protests and the protracted U.S.-China trade war.

The economy shrank 3.2% in July-September from the preceding period, contracting for a second straight quarter and meeting the technical definition of a recession, according to preliminary government data on Thursday.

From a year earlier, gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 2.9%. The readings were the weakest for the Asian financial hub since the global financial crisis in 2008/2009.

The government also revised down second-quarter GDP data to 0.4% year-on-year, from 0.6%, and a contraction of 0.5% quarter on quarter, versus 0.3% previously.

“Domestic demand worsened significantly,” the government said in a statement.