Official figures for China retail sales show an 8.6 per cent year-on-year increase in October.

That’s a little shy of the 9.2 per cent achieved in September and the same pace of growth for the first 10 months of the year.

The data was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which blamed the slowing growth rate on delayed consumption ahead of the 11.11 Singles Day shopping festival. Many products sold on Singles Day are pre-ordered, but not settled until the 24-hour sale commences, to boost the event’s topline figure.

The NBS said sales in rural areas rose by 9.7 per cent in October, a faster rate than the 8.4 per cent in urban areas.

Online spending soared 25.5 per cent to reach RMB 7 trillion during the first 10 months of this year.