Following a 2.3% year-on-year drop in August, Hong Kong's total exports in goods rose 9.1% from a year earlier to US$379.3 billion in September, far exceeding market expectations for a 0.2% increase and ending a six-month decline. Imports rose 3.4% year-on-year, ending a 21-month decline. Both Hong Kong's exports and imports rebounded in September, the largest increase in the past two years. Meanwhile, the value of total exports in goods fell 4% in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year, while imports fell 6.8%. A Hong Kong government spokesman said exports in goods picked up significantly on an annual basis last month, mainly driven by a marked acceleration in exports to the Mainland. Exports to the United States also returned to moderate growth in September, while the decline in exports to the European Union narrowed sharply, reflecting the recovery in the European and US economies. As for exports to other major Asian markets, the performance is mixed. Looking ahead, the spokesman noted that the mainland economy is recovering steadily and it is expected to provide strong support for Hong Kong's exports in the short term. However, the renewed deterioration of the epidemic in some advanced markets has created uncertainty about the short-term economic outlook. The development of China-US relations, geopolitical tensions and EU-UK trade negotiations are also worthy of attention, and the SAR government will closely monitor these developments. People from the chamber of Commerce said that the pandemic in Europe and the United States has repeatedly worsened, and many cities have been lockdown again, which has a great chance to drag down Christmas sales. Until a vaccine is successfully developed, the global economy will remain unstable and the outlook will be difficult to be optimistic.