LIFTED by a recovery in exports, Hong Kong's economy grew for a fourth straight quarter, the government said yesterday.

Its gross domestic product rose 2.4 percent in the first quarter from the final quarter of last year.

Hong Kong's economy contracted by 2.7 percent in 2009 but expanded 2.3 percent in the final quarter of last year.

With demand rising in the United States and Europe, Hong Kong's exports surged 21.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier. Unemployment stood at 4.4 percent - down half a percentage point from the previous quarter.