MACAO -- Macao recorded a trade deficit of 5.28 billion patacas ($661.5 million) in October, as merchandise import increased by 9.5 percent year-on-year, according to the figures released on Friday by the city's Statistics and Census Service.

Total merchandise export for October amounted to 637 million patacas, with value of domestic export decreasing by 12.2 percent to 165 million patacas, the figures showed.

From January to October 2012, total value of merchandise export increased by 21.5 percent year-on-year to 6.79 billion patacas, meanwhile that of import grew by 16.8 percent to 58.18 billion patacas ($7.29 billion), the figures indicated.

Analyzed by destination, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in the first ten months of 2012 increased by 42.3 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively, year-on- year, while export to the United States and the EU decreased by 8.3 percent and 19 percent respectively, the DSEC said.

In the first ten months of 2012, value of merchandise import from Chinese mainland (18.81 billion patacas) and the EU (13.72 billion patacas) expanded by 23.2 percent and 11 percent year-on-year, respectively, the figures indicated.