China July Retail Sales Up 0.6% YoY, Communications Equipment Surges 20.4%, Autos Fall 17%

In July, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.9022 trillion yuan, up 0.6% year-on-year, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. Communications equipment led with a 20.4% growth rate, while autos continued to drag overall with a 17.0% decline; retail sales excluding autos totaled 3.5892 trillion yuan, up 2.5%. From January to July, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 28.7744 trillion yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year.