Hong Kong's total retail sales value in December 2011, provisionally estimated at 43 billion HK dollars (about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars), increased 23.4 percent over a year earlier, the city's Census and Statistics Department announced here Thursday.

The department released the latest figures on retail sales on Thursday, saying after netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales increased by 17.1 percent in December 2011 compared with a year earlier.

The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in November 2011, at 33.4 billion HK dollars, increased 23.4 percent over November 2010, while the volume of total retail sales increased 16.9 percent.

Analyzed by the broad type of retail outlet and comparing December 2011 with December 2010, the volume of sales of miscellaneous consumer durable goods increased the most, by 163.3 percent.

Based on the seasonally adjusted series, the volume of total retail sales increased 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the preceding quarter.

For 2011 as a whole, the value of total retail sales was 405.7 billion HK dollars, up 24.8 percent in value and 18.4 percent in volume over 2010. (One U.S. dollar is equivalent to 7. 755 HK dollars)

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet