HONG Kong's export growth slowed in June as demand from the United States dropped for the second month and sales to the Chinese mainland and Germany, Europe's biggest economy, expanded at a slower pace.

Overseas shipments gained 9.2 percent from a year earlier to HK$292 billion (US$37.5 billion), the government said on its website yesterday. That compared with the median 8.4 percent forecast of 11 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Export growth rebounded to 10.1 percent in May from a 17-month low of 4.1 percent the previous month.

A faltering recovery in the US and the threat of a widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe are crimping growth in exports even as trade disruption caused by Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis fades. Expansion on the mainland, the biggest contributor to global growth, is also moderating.

"The US and Europe are important markets for Hong Kong's exports," said Joanne Yim, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank Ltd. "Governments are retrenching, cutting spending and raising taxes to restore fiscal discipline which will affect consumer and investment demand."

Imports increased 11.5 percent in June from a year earlier after a 13 percent gain in May, leaving a trade deficit of HK$40.3 billion, the report showed.

Exports to the mainland, the biggest destination for shipments via Hong Kong, rose 6 percent after an 8.8 percent gain in May. Sales to the US, the No. 2 market, fell 5.2 percent after a 2.4 percent drop in May while those to Germany grew 7 percent after a 24 percent gain in May.