HONG KONG, July 29 (Xinhua) - Hong Kong's economy slumped 9 percent year on year in the second quarter of this year as the COVID-19 epidemic dampened business activities and the impact of social unrest still lingered.

(File photo: VCG)

The performance fell short of market expectations but still improved slightly from a record-high 9.1-percent drop in the first quarter, according to advance estimates of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government Wednesday.

In a statement, a government spokesman said that the "overall economic conditions remained very weak."

Private consumption posted the steepest ever decline as consumer sentiments were severely disrupted by the threat of COVID-19 and social distancing measures. Investment also tumbled amid the austere business environment and a highly uncertain economic outlook.

But there were still signs of stabilization as the epidemic was once largely under control in May and June and the recovery of the mainland economy helped offset the external headwinds facing Hong Kong's goods exports, the spokesman said.

The gross domestic product fell marginally by 0.1 percent during the April-June period on a quarter-to-quarter comparison, he added.