China’s retail sales growth hits three-year low in Nov

BEIJING, Dec 15 (AFP): China's retail sales grew at their slowest pace in nearly three years last month, official data showed Monday, underlining the tough battle leaders face in kickstarting consumption in the world's number two economy.

Retail sales edged up 1.3 per cent year-on-year in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, the weakest pace since December 2022, when stringent zero-Covid measures ended.

The reading was also well short of a Bloomberg forecast of 2.9 per cent, the same as October's figure.

Beijing has in recent years sought to revive consumer sentiment in the domestic economy, which has been battered by a prolonged debt crisis in the country's vast property market.

Despite the spending slump, China's economy has been supported by robust exports, which have remained resilient in the face of this year's fierce trade war with the United States. Factory activity growth also weakened last month, NBS data showed.