FX.co ★ China Retail Sales Growth at Over 1-Year High

In March 2025, China's retail sales experienced a significant increase, rising by 5.9% compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth surpasses earlier market projections of a 4.2% increase and marks an improvement from the 4% growth recorded in January and February. The March results represent the strongest retail activity since December 2023, with notable sales increases in numerous sectors. Grain, oil, and food sales surged by 13.8% (up from 11.5% in January-February), while tobacco and alcohol sales grew by 8.5% (compared to 5.5%). Sales in the clothing and accessories category, which includes shoes and hats, improved to 3.6% from 3.3%, and the sports and entertainment sector saw a rise of 26.3%, slightly up from 25%. Household appliances experienced a remarkable growth of 35.1%, a significant jump from 10.9%, and jewelry sales rose by 10.6%, compared to 5.4%. The personal care sector also reported an 8.8% increase, up from 5.7%. Additionally, sales rebounded in beverages, which rose by 4.4% after a previous decline of 2.6%, and in automobiles, which climbed by 5.5% after a previous decrease of 4.4%. However, sales slowed down for office supplies, which fell slightly to 21.5% from 21.8%, and for medicine, which decreased to 1.4% from 2.5%. There was also a decline in petroleum products, which dropped by 1.9% after previously increasing by 0.9%. Over the first quarter of the year, overall retail sales increased by 4.6%. On a month-to-month basis, retail trade growth eased to 0.58% in March 2025, down from 0.62% in the preceding month.