China: Growth in retail sales inches up in December
In December, nominal retail sales grew 8.2% on an annual basis, a slight acceleration from the 8.1% expansion registered in November. The print was above market expectations of an 8.1% increase and mostly reflected softer contractions in sales of automobiles and oil and oil-related products.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, retail sales expanded 0.55% in December, edging up from the 0.50% increase in November. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales inched down from 9.1% in November to 9.0% in December.