Retail sales grow 23% in September

Retail spending grew 23.2% to US$138.24 billion (RMB944.7 billion) in September, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing National Bureau of Statistics figures released Tuesday. It was the fourth straight month sales had increased by more than 23%. Consumer spending reached US$1.14 trillion (RMB7.79 trillion) over the first nine months of the year, up 22% on a year earlier. Growth was 6.1 percentage points faster than for the same period a year earlier. Spending on clothing grew 25.9%, grains and edible oils 28.6%, egg and meat 25.6%, automobiles 29.1%, and refined oil 46.4%. Expenditure on building and renovation materials dropped 5.7%.