China: Retail sales slow in July
In July, nominal retail sales grew 7.6% on an annual basis, down from the 9.6% increase in June and below market expectations of 8.6%. July’s deceleration mostly reflected contractions in auto sales and oil and oil products sales.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, retail sales expanded 0.22% in July, down from the 0.96% increase in June. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales was stable at June’s 8.5% in July.