Standard & Poor's Global October Hong Kong PMI rose to 51.2 for the third consecutive month in expansion territory.

Standard & Poor's global announced that Hong Kong's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for October, after seasonal adjustment, rose to 51.2 from 50.4 in September, marking the third consecutive month in the expansion zone above 50. At the same time, the survey shows that companies remain cautious about their business prospects in the next year. The volume of new orders recorded the first growth in nine months, with the largest increase in a year, driven by improved customer confidence. New export orders continued to decline due to the relatively weak global economy and the impact of U.S. tariffs, but new orders from the mainland recorded growth for the first time in a year, offsetting the weak performance in overseas markets. Despite an increase in orders, backlogs of work have been declining for ten consecutive months, reflecting that private enterprises still have excess capacity. Companies have increased procurement for the first time since February to keep up with sales, but there has been limited growth in employment. Overall input costs for companies have been on the rise, with the rate of increase slowing down due to stable wage growth, but rising raw material prices have pushed up procurement prices. Companies have been raising prices for four consecutive months, with the increase being the largest in a year.