Retail sales growth holds firm in May

Retail sales growth holds firm in May
WATCH VIDEOSource: CCTV.com
06-14-2008 12:38
Retail sales held up across the country for the month of May. And this is despite expected losses from the Wenchuan earthquake. In fact, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show a year-on-year surge of 21.6 percent, to hit as much as 870.4 billion yuan last month.

The annual growth rate for May was slightly lower than the 22 percent recorded for April. But May's figures, are still the second fastest on record. Just a few industries showed a slight dip and these include the sectors of hospitality as well as food-and-beverage. But others showed no signs of decline from the previous month.

Zhang Yongjun, researcher of State Information Center, said, "The growth rate was much higher than expected. The small dip was a result of a shorter Labor Day holiday and the Wenchuan earthquake, but their impact was limited. Taking consumer prices into consideration, we can say that there's a general uptrend for retail sales."

Figures also show a slowdown in the sale of food, matching a dip in prices for many staple food items. Meanwhile, spending on recreational goods and home appliances also dropped, but there's been a rise in the sales of building materials. Experts are saying that with continued momentum in economic growth, retail sales are set to keep growing at faster rates with the Olympics likely to give a further boost to consumption.

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• business