China Retail Sales Barely Grow as Consumer Demand Weakens

1. China's retail sales barely grew in April, posting the weakest expansion since December 2022 as reduced stimulus support weighed on consumer spending. [para. 1]

2. Retail sales rose only 0.2% year-on-year in April, slowing 1.5 percentage points from March, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. This missed the 1.9% average forecast in a Caixin survey of economists. [para. 2]

3. The weak reading highlights persistent fragility in domestic demand as policymakers seek to shift the economy toward consumption-led growth. [para. 3]

4. The slowdown was driven partly by weaker support for consumer goods trade-ins and demand front-loading. [para. 4]

5. Automobile sales plunged 15.3% year-on-year as the impact of reduced tax incentives for new-energy vehicles continued to be felt, while sales of home appliances and furniture also posted double-digit declines. [para. 5]

6. The prolonged property slump weighed on consumption, with sales of building and decoration materials falling 13.8%. [para. 6]

7. In contrast, catering revenue rose 2.2% year-on-year in April, while services retail sales increased 5.6% in the first four months of the year. [para. 7]