China Retail Sales YoY

China's retail sales increased by 3.7% year-on-year in July 2025, slowing from 4.8% in June and missing market expectations of a 4.6% gain. The latest figure marked the weakest growth since December 2024, as sales moderated across several categories, including grain, oil, and food (8.6% vs 8.7% in June), clothing, shoes, hats, and textiles (1.8% vs 1.9%), household appliances and audio-visual equipment (28.7% vs 32.4%), cultural and office supplies (13.8% vs 24.4%), and furniture (20.6% vs 28.7%). Additionally, sales declined at a faster pace for petroleum and related products (-8.3% vs -7.3%), while sales slipped for automobiles (-1.5% vs 4.6%) and building and decoration materials (-0.5% vs 1%). On a monthly basis, retail activity fell by 0.14% in July 2025, easing from a revised 0.26% decline in the previous month. For the first seven months of the year, retail trade increased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year.