China Retail Sales YoY

China's retail sales rose by 3.1% year-on-year in March 2024, falling short of market forecasts of 4.5% and notably slowing from a 5.5% growth in the prior period. It was the 14th straight month of increase in retail trade but the softest gain since July 2023, as sales growth eased for gold, silver, and jewelry (3.2% vs 5.0% in Jan-Feb), furniture (0.2% vs 4.6%), communications equipment (7.2% vs 16.2%), and oil products (3.5% vs 5.0%). At the same time, sales of office supplies continued to fall (-6.6% vs -8.8%) while car sales dropped by 3.7% after rising 8.7% in the prior period. On the other hand, sales accelerated for grain and food oil (11.0% vs 9.0%), clothing (3.8% vs 1.9%), home appliances (5.8% vs 5.7%), and building materials (2.8% vs 2.1%). Also, sales of personal care increased by 3.5%, a turnaround from a 0.7% fall previously. For the first three months of the year, retail turnover grew by 4.7%.