A report by UBS and Art Basel has revealed a slump in global art sales in 2019, with the US retaining its top spot in this market.

The report polled 1,300 HNW collectors in the US, UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

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According to the study, global art sales dropped 5% year-on-year to $64.1bn in 2019.

The performance is the result of multiple factors including the US-China trade conflict and uncertainties related to Brexit.

Despite these factors, the ranking of the US in 2019 in terms of market share remained unchanged from 2018 at 44%.

The UK became the second largest art market with a 20% share followed by China with a share of 18%.

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Millennial collectors were the most active buyers, unveiled the study.

This customer segment spent over six times the money on art than Boomers.

Notably, female collectors had a higher average spending level than men and also had larger collections than men on average.

This trend was witnessed despite the fact that female collectors were fewer in number than their male counterparts.

Online art sales dipped 2% year-on-year to $5.9bn, with millennials being the most regular users of this mode.

This market accounted for 9% of the value of global sales.

Sales in the dealer sector reached $36.8bn in 2019, up 2% from the previous year.

Meanwhile, aggregate sales in art fairs reached $16.6bn in 2019.

UBS Global Wealth Management chief economist Paul Donovan said: “The art market often mirrors the trends and economic developments we see in wealth creation.

“The growth of millennial and female spending power today is part of that.”

Meanwhile, last month, Art Basel Hong Kong was cancelled over the deadly coronavirus outbreak.