Hong Kong International Airport, the world's busiest air cargo hub, said air cargo traffic last year fell 4.6 percent as deepening global economic uncertainty in Europe and the US hurt demand for exports from Asia, particularly China.

The outlook for air cargo, an important indicator of trade and economic momentum, is uncertain as consumer sentiment in Hong Kong's two major export markets, North America and Europe, remains fragile.

Air cargo volume in December fell 4.3 percent, slightly better than the 6.6 percent drop seen in November, pushing full-year traffic down to 3.94 million tonnes.

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