MACAO - Macao recorded a trade deficit of 5.58 billion patacas ($697.5 million) in November, as merchandise import soared by 51.9 percent year-on-year, according to the figures released on Thursday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Total merchandise export for November amounted to 651 million patacas, with value of domestic export increasing by 16.1 percent to 219 million patacas, the figures showed.

Meanwhile, total value of merchandise export in the first eleven months of 2011 dropped by 2.8 percent year-on-year to 6.24 billion patacas, of which value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 1.2 percent and 3.6 percent respectively.

Analyzed by destination, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and the United States in the first eleven months of 2011 decreased by 1.2 percent, 3.6 percent and 31.2 percent, respectively, year-on-year, the DSEC said.

In the first eleven months of 2011, value of merchandise import from Chinese mainland (17.05 billion patacas) and the EU (13.96 billion patacas) expanded by 38 percent and 59.5 percent year-on- year, respectively, the figures indicated.