Retail sales in China grew at their fastest pace in five months during October, driven by demand for clothes, cosmetics and computers, according to the BBC.
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The broadcaster said sales jumped 14.2% in October from a year earlier, topping market estimates and the 14% climb seen in September.
Car sales increased by 2.1%, while sales of jewellery and precious metal sales jumped 25%, the report added, noting that rising wages are helping boost consumer demand at a time when the government is trying to rebalance the economy and ensure that its boom is sustainable.
Analysts reportedly said domestic demand would be key to ensuring that growth continues.
“It is crucially important that China keeps consumption and exports growing fast,” Dong Tao, an economist at Credit Suisse First Boston, told the BBC.
It cited the national statistical office as saying that sales of food, clothes and household merchandise all rose more than 18% in October though a separate report showed that consumer price growth was moderating.
Prices in October climbed by 4.2% from a year earlier, the slowest rate of increase in six months, the BBC said.
