China Retail Sales YoY

China's retail sales grew by 2.7% year-on-year in July 2024, compared to market forecasts of 2.6% and accelerating from June's 17-month low of a 2.0% rise. This marked the 18th consecutive month of expansion in retail trade. boosted by growth sales of beverages (6.1% vs 1.7% in June), sports & recreation articles (10.7% vs -1.5%), communication equipment (12.7% vs 2.9%), and petroleum & petroleum products (1.6% vs 4.6%). Meanwhile, sales shrank for tobacco & alcohol (-0.1% vs 5.2%), furniture (-1.1% vs 1.1%), clothes, shoes, hats & textiles (-5.2% vs -1.9%), cosmetics (-6.1% vs -14.6%), household appliances & audio-video equipment (-2.4% vs -7.6%), and cultural & office supplies (-2.4% vs -8.5%). On a monthly basis, the retail activity grew 0.35% in July 2024, rebounding from a downwardly revised 0.10% fall in the previous month. For the first seven months of the year, the retail turnover grew by 3.5%.

China's retail sales rose by 2% year-on-year in June 2024, falling short of market forecasts of 3.3% and notably slowing from a 3.7% gain in the previous month. This marked the 17th consecutive month of growth in retail trade, albeit the softest in the sequence, as sales slowed remarkably for beverages (1.7% vs 6.5% in May), tobacco & alcohol (5.2% vs 7.7%), furniture (1.1% vs 4.8%), communication equipment (2.9% vs 16.6%), and petroleum & petroleum products (4.6% vs 5.1%). Moreover, sales tumbled for clothes, shoes, hats & textiles (-1.9% vs 4.4%), cosmetics (-14.6% vs 18.7%), sports & recreation articles (-1.5% vs 20.2%), household appliances & audio-video equipment (-7.6% vs 12.9%), and cultural & office supplies (-8.5% vs 4.3%). On a monthly basis, the retail activity tumbled 0.12% in June 2024, the first decline since July 2023, from a downwardly revised 0.23% rise in the previous month. For the first six months of the year, the retail turnover grew by 3.7%.

China's retail sales grew by 3.7% year-on-year in May 2024, accelerating from a fifteen-month low of 2.3% rise in the previous month and compared to market forecasts of 3% gain. This marked the 16th consecutive month of growth in retail trade, and the sharpest since February 2024, as sales grew for grain, oils & food (9.3% vs 8.5% in April), home appliances (12.9% vs 4.5%), oil products (5.1% vs 1.6%), personal care (7.7% vs 4.4%), furniture (4.8% vs 1.2%) and communications equipment (16.6% vs 13.3%). Additionally, sales rebounded for clothing (4.4% vs -2%) and office supplies (4.3% vs -4.4%), while decreased at a softer pace for car (-4.4% vs -5.6%). In contrast, sales slowed for tobacco & alcohol (7.7% vs 8.4%) and Chinese & Western medicine (4.3% vs 7.8%). On a monthly basis, retail trade rose 0.51% in May, the most since October 2023, from an upwardly revised 0.06% increase in the previous month. For the first five months of the year, retail turnover grew by 4.1%.