Retail Sales Rise in China For The First Time in 2020

Retail sales in China rose in August for the first time since 2020, as Chinese consumers ramped up their spending in a sign of further economic recovery from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

Retail sales rose 0.5% in August from the same period last year, in the first positive report for this year so far, according to the Chinese National Statistics Office. It is worth noting that sales of telecom equipment increased by 25.1% compared to last year, while vehicle sales increased by 11.8%.

The office said that retail sales for the first eight months of the year were down 8.6 percent from a year ago. The data showed that online retail sales of physical goods increased by 15.8% during that period.

The office said the unemployment rate measured through the official city survey was 5.6%, 0.1 percentage point lower than in July.

Elsewhere, industrial production grew by 5.6% in August compared to last year.