na's retail sales up 23.3% in July

China's retail sales reached RMB 862.9 billion (US$125.8 billion), up 23.3% from a year earlier, announced the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

The total sales in urban areas amounted to RMB 590.5 billion, increasing by 24% year-on-year, while that in areas at or below county level rose 21.8% year-on-year to RMB 274.4 billion.

The figures showed that wholesale and retail sales rose 23.3% to RMB 730.3 billion, of which catering and hotel businesses contributed RMB 116.8 billion, up 26.5% year on year.

In terms of categories, sales of grain and edible oil were up 18.3% in July, with meat and eggs up 18.4%, clothing and apparels up 26.8%, office stationery up 16.1%, sporting and recreational goods up18.3% and commodity up 19.5%. In addition, household appliances and audio & video equipments rose 18.8%, furniture up 19.6%, cosmetics up 31.8%, jewelry up 43.6%, communication facilities up 6.1%, automobiles up 27.8%, oil and related products up 55.2%, while construction as well as upholstery materials down 3.4%.

During the first seven months of this year, China's retail sales reached RMB 5.97 trillion, an increase of 21.7% from the same period of the previous year.