China Lunar New Year holiday retail, catering sales up 8.5%

Shanghai: Retail and catering sales in China over the Lunar New Year holiday totalled 1.01 trillion yuan ($150 billion; Dh549.78 billion), 8.5 per cent higher than in last year’s festive period, according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Tourism revenue was also higher, rising 8.2 per cent to 513.9 billion yuan, CCTV said, citing data from the Ministry of Commerce. This year’s holiday was February 4-10, while it was February 15-21 in 2018.

Spending data for the week-long break suggest resilience among Chinese shoppers, as hundreds of millions of people travelled throughout the country to see relatives. While a trade dispute with the US has put China’s economy and financial markets under strain, official retail sales figures show consumer confidence remains robust as the government takes steps to stimulate growth.