China's exports rose 12.7 percent from a year earlier in November for the second consecutive month, thanks to improved data in the US and the European Union (EU), government figures showed. Exports, which also accelerated from October's 5.6 percent expansion, totaled USD 202.2 billion in November, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on its Website. Exports to the US gained 17.7 percent year-on-year, while shipments to the 28-member EU climbed 18.4 percent. Imports by the world's second-largest economy grew 5.3 percent from a year earlier to USD 168.4 billion. Trade surplus hit USD 33.8 billion, the biggest since January 2009. "November's export growth is partially owing to the recovery in developed economies and the seasonal demand surge through festivals such as Christmas," state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang Jun, an expert at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, as saying. "But it's very likely that speculative funds, or hot money, flowed into China chasing the renminbi appreciation," Wang said. "November's remarkable trade surplus will increase expectations for the appreciation of the renminbi. It will also weaken China's exports next year when the US tapers off its monetary stimulus and capital flows out of China," he added.