China's capital realized 17.82 billion yuan (2.15 billion US dollars) in retail sales of consumer products in July, a year-on-year growth of 13.5 percent, according to the municipal administration of commerce.

The total volume of retail sales of consumer products amounted to 124.56 billion yuan (15 billion US dollars) for the first seven months of this year, up 18.4 percent, local commerce authorities said.

The rural area dwarfed its urban peer in terms of growth rate for the retail sales.

Between January and July, retail sales stood at 105.29 billion yuan (12.7 billion US dollars) and 19.27 billion yuan (2.3 billion US dollars) in rural and urban areas, up 17.8 percent and 22.2 percent, respectively, year-on-year.