China's retail sales of consumer goods up 17.7% in April

Cumulatively for the first four months of 2021, retail sales of consumer goods rose 29.6 per cent year-on-year to touch 13.84 trillion yuan, the NBS data showed.

In addition, as Chinese consumers are quickly embracing online shopping, e-commerce sales during January-April 2021 grew 27.6 per cent year-on-year.

On the trade front, China's exports grew 32.3 per cent year-on-year to $263.92 billion in April, as per the statistics released by the country's General Administration of Customs. Imports also soared by 43.1 per cent during the month, reflecting robust economic activity.

Meanwhile, industrial output grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 9.8 per cent year-on-year in April. According to the NBS, the industrial output of the high-tech manufacturing sector increased 12.7 per cent, while investment in the high-tech sector rose 28.8 per cent.

The producer price index (PPI), which is a measure of factory gate prices, grew at the fastest rate in over three years to hit 6.8 per cent in April on a yearly basis.

During the remaining months of 2021, domestic consumption in China will witness a stable growth due to a series of favourable factors, NBS spokesperson, Fu Linghui said at a press briefing. Owing to improved consumer expectations, the contribution of home consumption to GDP growth will continue to increase, Linghui added.

As part of its efforts to boost economic growth post-pandemic, the Chinese government has been introducing several measures to revive consumer confidence.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)