CHINA'S retail sales rose less than expected in the first two months of this year, denting the country's hope of relying more on domestic demand to sustain growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Retail sales, a broad measure of people's consumption, expanded 14.7 percent from a year earlier to 3.36 trillion yuan (US$533 billion) between January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. It weakened notably from the pace of 18.1 percent in December and 17.3 percent in November.
"Even in the months of the Spring Festival holiday, a common peak for consumption, people seemed to be reluctant to spend," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities Co.
"It is a bad harbinger for the year ahead when policymakers have pinned much hope on more domestic demand to drive the economy."
However, the disappointing retail sales figures in the first two months may force policymakers to introduce more measures to stimulate demand, Li said.
The Ministry of Commerce has said it will soon roll out new policies to spur consumption as some stimulus measures are being gradually phased out since last year.
In the first two months, sales of communication appliances, mobile phones in particular, led other purchases by jumping 43.1 percent from a year earlier. In comparison, sales of household appliances fell 2.9 percent year on year.