Macao recorded a trade deficit of 4.92 billion patacas (615 million U.S. dollars) in October, as merchandise import soared by 47.1 percent year-on-year, according to the figures released on Wednesday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Total merchandise export for October amounted to 533 million patacas (66.6 million U.S. dollars), with value of domestic export decreasing by 20.9 percent to 188 million patacas (23.5 million U. S. dollars), the figures showed.

Meanwhile, total value of merchandise export in the first ten months of 2011 dropped by 4.5 percent year-on-year to 5.59 billion patacas (698.7 million U.S. dollars), of which value of re-export declined by 5.3 percent.

Analyzed by destination, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and United States in the first ten months of 2011 decreased by 3.7 percent, 3.9 percent and 33.2 percent, respectively, year-on-year, the DSEC said.

In the first ten months of 2011, value of merchandise import from Chinese mainland (15.25 billion patacas) and the EU (12.4 billion patacas) expanded by 38 percent and 58.9 percent year- on- year, respectively, the figures indicated.