Hong Kong's foreign trade stayed on a rising momentum last month, with both exports and imports growing by nearly 15 percent year on year to beat analysts' expectations.

Census and Statistics Department figures on Monday showed that exports rose for the 14th month in a row, up by 14.7 percent year on year to HK$434.5 billion in April.

That was down from the 18.5 percent annual growth seen in March, but reflected a maintenance of the growth momentum despite the impact of high US tariffs.

Imports rose for a fourth consecutive month, increasing by 15.8 percent year on year to HK$450 billion, compared with the 16.6 percent growth in March.

The latest figures left the city with a trade deficit of almost HK$16 billion, or 3.6 percent of the value of imports of goods.

By region, total exports to Asia as a whole grew notably by 20.8 percent year on year, with imports by Malaysia rocketing up by more than 61 percent and followed by Vietnam's 48 percent.

Exports to the United States also remained in the expansion territory but rose by only 1 percent.

Exports to Netherlands, the UK and South Korea, however, fell between 24 and 38 percent.

The city imported heavily from Vietnam last month, as the total value of imports from the country more than doubled.

Looking ahead, a government's spokesperson noted that "as international trade tensions have eased somewhat of late, the headwinds and uncertainties in the external environment have lessened to some extent".

"The government will continue to closely monitor changes in the external environment and stay vigilant to the potential impacts brought about by shifts in trade policies," the spokesperson added.

For the first four months of the year, exports grew by 11.9 percent year on year while imports advanced by 11.4 percent.