China retail sales rose by 11 per cent in November, according to official government data.

The size of the  increase may have surprised some given the gradual easing of the growth rate in recent months, but it may also reflect a blip from the massive 11.11 Singles Day online sale.

Retail sales growth for the first 11 months of 2015 rose 10.6 per cent to 27,229.6 billion yuan.

In November, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 2,793.7 billion yuan, up by 11.2 percent year on year. That figure is described by the Chinese government as the nominal growth rate, with the real growth rate 11.0 per cent.

Retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 2,414.3 billion yuan in November, up by 11.0 per cent year on year (all figures hereon in are nominal); spending in rural areas totalled 379.4 billion yuan, up by 12.2 per cent, year on year.

From January to November, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 23,443.3 billion yuan, up by 10.4 per cent; in rural areas 3,786.3 billion yuan, up by 11.8 per cent.

Catering services in November gained 303.4 billion yuan, up by 11.5 per cent.

Online growth

From January to November, nationwide online retail sales totalled 3,452.6 billion yuan, an increase of 34.5 per cent year on year. Of that, physical goods accounted for 2,886.9 billion yuan, up 33 per cent, and non-physical goods for 565.7 billion yuan, up 42.9 per cent.

Of the online retail sales of physical goods, food, clothing and other commodities went up by 41.7 per cent, 23.5 per cent and 36.9 per cent respectively.