China retail sales posted solid growth in April, despite concerns over a slowing economy and the Sino-US trade war.

Total April retail sales rose by 7.2 per cent, slower than the previous month. However, as Mitusko Miyasako, an equity analyst at Jefferies commented, April this year had two fewer public holidays than April last year.

“Consequently, like comparison with the prior year shows 8.7 per cent growth, the same as in March.”

By category, apparel, footwear, headwear, knitwear, automobiles, and construction/decorative materials posted negative growth. “However, the degree of negative growth was small for all of these categories, so we believe consumption remains brisk,” said Miyasako.

Sales growth for cosmetics (up 6.7 per cent) and daily necessities (up 12.6 per cent) was slower than in March, “but cosmetics and daily necessities are goods that are impacted by the number of holidays”.

“Consequently, we see no major trend change and believe sales remain upbeat,” concluded Miyasako.