China's retail sales in April grew 8.2 percent from a year earlier to 305 billion yuan (US$36.8 billion), boosted by growth in personal incomes, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.
The figures compare with a rise of 8.3 percent in March.
In mid-April, China's State Economic and Trade Commission forecast April retail sales to grow 8.6 percent from a year earlier to 306 billion yuan.
The NBS said retail sales in the four months to April grew 8.4 percent year-on-year to 1.31 trillion yuan. In the first quarter, retail sales rose 8.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.004 trillion yuan.
Urban retail sales during April grew by 9.4 percent from a year earlier to 192 billion yuan, it said, while retail sales at the county level and below were up 6.2 percent to 113 billion yuan.
The bureau said Chinese retail sales in April were bolstered by strong growth in personal incomes, noting urban per capita cash incomes in the first quarter was up 16.2 percent from a year earlier, while rural cash incomes grew by 7.2 percent.
The bureau also said the change of season meant there was strong demand for summer clothes and noted demand for household electrical appliances, as well as wines and tobacco, was strong ahead of the May Day holiday from May 1.
April retail sales in the wholesale, retail and trade industries grew 8.3 percent from a year earlier to nearly 210 billion yuan.
(China Daily May 17, 2002)
