The total retail sales of consumer goods for January and February in China landed slightly above analysts' projections, increasing by 5.5% on a yearly basis to reach 8.13 trillion yuan, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Monday.
Retail sales of goods were up by 4.6% year-on-year, with catering increasing by 12.5%. In the first two months, the retail sales of services grew by 12.3% on a yearly basis.
Analyzed by different areas, the data for the two-month period showed that retail sales in urban areas reached 7.04 trillion yuan up by 5.5% on a yearly basis, while in rural areas the figure added 5.8% year-on-year to reach 1.08 trillion yuan.
In February, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 0.03% compared with that of the previous month.
