Hong Kong recorded 207.4 billion HK dollars (26.6 billion U.S. dollars) of goods exports in January, up 9.2 percent on the same month last year, the Census and Statistics Department revealed Tuesday.

The January figure came in the wake of a year-on-year rise of 13.7 percent in December.

Among the total exports, re-exports grew 12.5 percent to 199 billion HK dollars (25.5 billion U.S. dollars) while the value of domestic exports fell 35.8 percent to 8.4 billion HK dollars (1.1 billion U.S. dollars).

A visible trade deficit of 4.4 billion HK dollars was recorded in Hong Kong in January, however, as its imports rose 14.1 percent over a year earlier to 211.8 billion HK dollars (27.1 billion U.S. dollars), after a 14.5 percent year-on-year increase of imports in December, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Noting merchandise exports attained notable growth in January, the Census and Statistics Department said the year-on-year growth that month might have been boosted by the difference in timing of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in late January last year but in mid-February this year.

Looking ahead, the Census and Statistics Department said Hong Kong's trade outlook for the near term largely depends on how the global economic environment will evolve and also on whether the exchange rate factor will continue to be favorable.