China retail sales growth hits 15-month high

(Sharecast News) - Retail sales growth in China jumped to a 15-month high in May as national holidays and government efforts to encourage spending despite additional trade tariffs from the US. Retail sales surged 6.4% year-on-year in May to 4.13trn yuan ($575bn), following 5.1% growth in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

That was well ahead of the 5.0% consensus estimate and the strongest rate of growth since December 2023, as urban retail sales grew 6.5% and rural sales gained 5.4%.

The acceleration was thought to be a result of increased spending during Labor Day (1 May) and the Dragon Boat Festival (31 May), while stimulus packages by Beijing to promote domestic consumption also helped as the economy began to feel the impacts of its trade war with Washington.

Retail sales over the first five months of the year totalled CNY20.32trn, up 5% over last year.