China's retail sales up 9.3% in first three quarters

BEIJING - China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 9.3 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year, official data showed Friday.

The growth slightly slowed from the 9.4 percent rise seen in the first half, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first three quarters, retail sales reached 27.4 trillion yuan ($3.95 trillion), NBS data showed.

In September alone, retail sales grew 9.2 percent year-on-year to 3.2 trillion yuan, up from 9 percent in August.

Meanwhile, retail sales in rural areas increased 10.4 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, continuing to outpace growth in urban regions, where sales rose 9.1 percent, according to the NBS.

In breakdown, the catering sector reported a 9.8 percent year-on-year rise in revenue in the first nine months, while sales of other consumer products increased by 9.2 percent.

Online spending remained robust, with sales surging 27 percent to reach 6.3 trillion yuan in the first nine months, NBS data showed.