Mumbai, Aug. 17 -- China's retail sales growth slowed to 0.6% YoY in July from 1% in June, reflecting continued weakness in consumer demand. Automobile sales plunged 17%, while furniture and building materials also recorded sharp declines. However, communication equipment sales surged 20.4%, while online retail sales of goods rose 4.6% in the first seven months. Excluding automobiles, retail sales increased 2.7% during January-July, highlighting a relatively stronger underlying consumption trend.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Capital Market....