Retail sales for November 2005 rose 4.2 percent compared with the same period last year, to reach an estimated 15.8 billion HK dollars (2.04 billion U.S. dollars), Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales increased 3.6 percent from a year earlier, the department said.

Taking the first 11 months of 2005 together, total retail sales rose 6.8 percent in value or 5.9 percent in volume over the same period a year earlier.

The department said the overall volume of retail sales continued to increase at a steady pace in November over a year earlier, indicating that consumer demand remained firm.

Consumer sentiment might have turned more cautious more recently in face of the interest rate hikes and the consolidation of the property market, it said.

However, the rise in labor income, the optimistic economic and employment outlook, and the continuous expansion of inbound tourism, should continue to provide support for retail sales, the department said.

Source: Xinhua