VIENNA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Austria's foreign trade declined sharply in November last year due to weak international demand, with exports plunging by 14.7 percent year-on-year and imports dropping by 3.9 percent, Statistics Austria reported on Friday.

The steep drop in exports, more than three times the rate of import reduction, resulted in a trade deficit of 190 million euros (196 million U.S. dollars) for the month, the agency said.

Tobias Thomas, director-general of Statistics Austria, attributed the decline mainly to reduced trade with Germany, Austria's most important trading partner. Exports to Germany contracted by 3.4 percent year-on-year in November, while imports from Germany fell by 3.3 percent.

Key export sectors suffered substantial declines in November, with the four main product groups - machinery and vehicles, processed goods, chemical products, and other manufactured goods - collectively decreasing by 17 percent in export volumes. Chemical products recorded the sharpest drop, plummeting by 40.5 percent.

In the January-November period, Austria's total imports fell by 7.6 percent to 174.65 billion euros, while exports declined by 4.8 percent to 177.71 billion euros. (1 euro = 1.03 U.S. dollar) Enditem

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