Business sentiment among small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong improved slightly in July after being on the decline since April, according to official data released on Friday.

The current diffusion index on business receipts, a monthly index released by the Census and Statistics Department to measure the business performance of SMEs in city, rose slightly from 41.4 in June to 41.8 in July in the contractionary zone. The outlook for the index on business receipts for August was 45.4.

The diffusion index earlier fell from 43.0 in May to 41.4 in June after recording a drop of 0.8 points between April and May.

A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favorable, whereas that below 50 suggests otherwise.

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According to the C&SD, the diffusion index for some surveyed sectors rose in July compared with previous month, particularly for the business services (from 44.5 to 48.2) and import and export trades (from 42.9 to 45.1).

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs showed some improvement in July, though performance of different sectors varied.

Meanwhile, the overall expectations on the business situation in one month's time weakened. The overall employment situation softened, he said.

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The spokesman added that while uncertainties surrounding the global economy would affect business sentiment, the central government's various measures that benefit Hong Kong and continued growth of the local economy should provide support.

The survey was based on the views collected from around 600 SMEs in selected sectors in Hong Kong, covering wholesale trade, retail trade, import and export trades, restaurants, logistics, real estate, and business services.