HONG KONG, Jan 2: Hong Kong retail sales rose 1.1 per cent year-on-year in November as the impact of the global credit crisis was softened by Christmas shopping and tourism, the government said on Friday.

Retail sales were worth 20.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.63 billion US) in November, the Census and Statistics Department said. Year-on-year growth represented an increase from 0.3 per cent in October.

But volume decreased 2.8 per cent in November after netting out the effect of price changes over the same period.

Sales rose 11.6 per cent over the first eleven months of 2008 compared with the same period a year earlier. Sales volume increased by 5.6 per cent over the same period.

The volume of sales of fuels increased the most year-on-year, by 9.3 per cent. That was followed by sales of furniture and fixtures, which was up 5.8 per cent.

Motor vehicles and parts saw the biggest fall, of 36.6 per cent.

A government spokesman said with the positive boost from the festive mood and the rebound in the number of mainland tourists, retail business would likely result in further improvement after months of slowing growth.—AFP