China's retail sales are expected to increase 8% in 2019 to 41.1 trillion yuan (€5.25 trillion), the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday, citing a commerce ministry official.
That compared with a 9% rise in retail sales in 2018.
Factory Activity
Elsewhere, China's factory activity likely expanded again in December on stronger external demand and an infrastructure push at home, but the pace of growth is set to ease as markets await more certainty on a U.S.-China trade truce, a Reuters poll showed.
The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December is expected to come in at 50.1, slightly above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis, according to the median forecasts of 27 economists.
This would be notch below November's 50.2, which unexpectedly ended six straight months of contraction as Beijing's accelerated stimulus measures buoyed domestic demand.
The recovery has been supported by a rebound in external demand, a pick-up in infrastructure investment, a still-resilient property market, and a moderate inventory restocking cycle propelled by improved growth expectations, analysts at China International Capital Corp (CIIC) said in a note.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
