Hong Kong's exports and imports continued to drop last month but in a much slower pace, official data showed on Monday.

The value of Hong Kong's goods exports inched down 1.4 percent year on year in November, from a 9.2-percent drop in October, according to the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) of the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Comparing to the same month last year, Hong Kong's total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 2.6 percent. In this region, Singapore, the Philippines and the Chinese mainland are the top three destinations, with an increase in the values of total exports of 8 percent, 7.3 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.

Hong Kong's exports in November were driven by the values of total exports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof, raised by 7.5 percent year on year, and power generating machinery and equipment, up 96.4 percent, according to the C&SD.

The value of goods imports declined by 5.8 percent year on year in November, also improving from an 11.5-percent drop in October.

A government spokesman said that the narrower year-on-year decline was mainly due to a rebound in exports to the Chinese mainland upon a low base of comparison.

However, exports to major advanced economies stayed weak. As global economic growth has yet to improve and the external environment is still subject to various uncertainties, the government will continue to monitor the situation closely, the spokesman said.

(With input from Xinhua)