China recorded a 17.7% growth in retail sales in April from last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics press release. The growth was below the expected 24.9%, a sign of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s retail sales in April are a slump from March’s 34.2% year-over-year growth.
The People’s Bank of China sees limited consumer spending underlining a lack of solid economic recovery.
Bruce Pang of China Renaissance sees an unbalanced China’s recovery as the economy takes longer to get to the pre-pandemic levels.
Catering sales rose 46.4% year over year, down from March’s 91.6%.
Online retail sales gained 23.1% during the first four months of the year from a similar period last year, slower than 25.8% growth during the first three months of the year.
Urban unemployment reduced to 5.1% in April, from 5.3% in March, as the unemployment rate for those aged between 16-24 years was a high of 13.6%.
Economists now say China’s economic growth peaked in the first quarter and is likely to slow in the next few months.
Chinese stocks are currently gaining as the yuan loses. CSI 300 is up 1.46%, USDCNY is up 0.04%.
