HK's exports of goods rise 10.5 pct in November

The value of Hong Kong's total exports of goods rose 10.5 percent from a year ago to 307.8 billion HK dollars (about 39.7 billion U.S. dollars) in November, the city's statistics department said here on Thursday.

The value of re-exports increased 10.7 percent to 302.6 billion HK dollars, and the value of domestic exports fell to 5.1 billion HK dollars. The value of imports of goods rose 9.0 percent to 351.8 billion HK dollars in November, bringing the trade deficit to 4.1 billion HK dollars.

A government spokesman said that merchandise exports rebounded notably in value terms in November over a year earlier, after a modest fall-back in October, and the fluctuating reflected a continued unsteady external trading environment.

The spokesman said the fragile fundamentals of the advanced economies will continue to weigh on their final demand in the near term, and Hong Kong's export outlook remains challenging.

For the first 11 months of 2012, the value of total exports of goods in Hong Kong rose 1.9 percent from a year ago, with the value of re-exports climbing 2.2 percent and the value of domestic exports falling 11.7 percent.

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods rose 3.2 percent, bringing the trade deficit to 429.9 billion HK dollars in the first 11 months.