Driven by robust consumer spending and easing inflationary concerns, Chinese retail sales climbed at the fastest pace in twelve years in August. Sales surged 23.2% to 876.8 billion yuan or approximately 128 billion U.S. dollars, while total January through August sales were up 21.9% to 6.8 trillion yuan. What made this sales growth even more impressive was the fact that food inflation had waned. Apparel sales were at the forefront of these gains, with sales increasing 29.5% from the previous year, while jewelry sales soared 44.3%.
