Holiday sales more signs that China's growth is slowing
Lunar New Year holiday period did not yield faster pace in retail sector compared with 2018
Shanghai — Sales by China’s retail businesses during the Lunar New Year holiday rose 8.5% from a year earlier, pushing up consumer stocks on Monday, but a cooler pace of growth added to evidence the economy is slowing. The ministry of commerce, in a notice on its website late on Sunday, said retail and catering enterprises had revenue of more than 1-trillion yuan ($148.3bn) between February 4 and 10 during the holiday. It attributed the increase to stronger sales of new-year gifts, traditional foods, electronic products and speciality products. The holiday is considered a barometer for Chinese private consumption as it is the time for family reunions as well as gift-giving. China’s economic growth slowed to 6.6% in 2018 — the weakest pace in 28 years — and is expected to cool further in 2019 before the government growth boosting measures stabilise activity from mid-year. On Monday, when China’s financial markets reopened, the blue-chip index rose 1.8%, and the consumer staple index ...
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