China: Growth in retail sales accelerates to five-month high in November
In November, nominal retail sales grew 8.0% on an annual basis, overshooting both the 7.2% expansion in October and the 7.6% increase that market analysts had expected. The print represented the strongest growth in five months. November’s acceleration reflected stronger sales of food and household appliances, along with a rebound in sales of clothing and footwear and oil and oil-related products.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, retail sales expanded 0.80% in November, above the 0.48% increase in October. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales stabilized at October’s 8.1% in November.
Against this backdrop, Yi David Wang, head of China economics at Credit Suisse, noted that:
“Part of the uptick in November should be attributable to the record sales surrounding Single’s Day (November 11th) promotions. It is worth noting that automobiles, not part of the Singles Day promotions which target more perishable and less costly merchandise, remain in contraction territory as expected.”