Source: CCTV.com

05-13-2009 13:54

New economic figures released today show both retail sales and industrial output are up. China's National Bureau of Statistics says April's year-on-year jumps indicate an improvement in the country's economy.

New economic figures released today show both retail sales and industrial output are up.

China's retail sales rose 14.8 percent in April year-on-year to more than 930 billion yuan. The National Bureau of Statistics said the growth rate was point-1 percent higher than in March. It noted that urban retail sales were outpaced by sales in the countryside. Demand was strongest for food, clothing, autos and home decorating materials.

Industrial output also rose 7.3 percent from a year earlier, well below the 8.3 percent growth seen in March. The figure was at the high end of analysts' expectations. They say the slowdown in April was a natural correction from March, when enterprises were busy stockpiling after the Lunar New Year .

Much of the manufacturing sector remained weak, with electricity generation - a key indicator of industrial activity - falling 3.5 percent in April. But growth in the output of auto, cement and oil products accelerated.

The mixed signals were typical of the data for April, which had been expected to show improvement after signs of a budding recovery in some parts of the economy.

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Editor:Xiong Qu