| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | |
| Month over Month | -0.13% | 0.06% | ||
| Year over Year | 0.8% | 0.4% to 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.6% |
Highlights
Chinese retail sales rose 0.4 percent on the year in August, moderating from an increase of 0.6 percent in July and below the consensus forecast for an increase of 0.8 percent. In month-over-month terms, retail sales fell 0.13 percent after a previous increase of 0.06 percent.
In year-to-date terms, sales are up 2.5 percent on the year, with sales of goods up 1.0 percent and sales of services up 4.9percent. Sales in urban areas are up 0.2 percent on the year, while sales in rural areas are up 1.6 percent.
In their statement accompanying today's data, officials characterised the data as showing the economy"was generally stable". Although officials did not explicitly refer to the Iran conflict, they judged that"the adverse impact of the external environment has intensified". Although officials provided no guidance about whether changes to policy settings will be considered in the near-term, they said they have"strived to make the macro policies more effective" and spoke of the need to"step up macro-policy adjustment".
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Sales expected marginally better with a gain of 0.8 percent on year in August, up from 0.6 percent in July.
Definition
Retail Sales measure goods that are sold to the consumer or end-user, generally in small quantities and in the state in which they were purchased by the retailer. China's retail sales are reported monthly. The critical value is the change from the same month in the previous year.
Description
Retail sales tend to have a muted impact because the Chinese economy is not heavily reliant on consumer spending. However, the government is trying to stimulate consumer spending to give the economy more balance. To this end, the government put into place a basket of stimulus measures, including government subsidies and tax breaks for home appliances and cars, to expand consumption to sustain the economic growth, which was slowed by a slump in exports amid the global economic downturn.