China Lunar New Year holiday retail sales up 11.2 percent year-on-year

Thomson ReutersPeople burn incense to worship the God of Fortune at Guiyuan Temple on the fifth day of Chinese Lunar New Year in Wuhan

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s retail sales grew 11.2 percent during the week-long Lunar New Year vacation compared with the same holiday period last year, Ministry of Commerce data showed on Saturday.

Revenues of retailers and catering firms grew to about 754 billion yuan ($115 billion) during the Feb 7-13 “Golden Week” holiday, a ministry statement said.

The holiday is especially important for retailers, which vie for customers by launching promotions and discounts. Millions of people take time off work to travel and generally spend more than usual during the break.

($1 = 6.5710 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Judy Hua; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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