The per capita disposable income of Beijing residents reached 11,698.9 yuan (1,442.5 US dollars) in the first eight months of this year, an annual rise of 12.6 percent, according to the municipal statistics bureau.

The actual growth rate was 10.7 percent allowing for price rises, the bureau said in its latest survey report.

During the period, the per capita cash income of rural residents increased by 13 percent year-on-year to reach 6,065 yuan (747.8 US dollars).

Yu Xiuqin, spokesperson for the bureau, attributed the rise mainly to an increase in salaries and household business earnings.

Meanwhile, prices dropped slightly. From January to August, the consumer price index was 101.7 percent, basically the same with that of the first seven months, but 0.1 percentage points lower than in the first quarter of the year.

The consumer market was stable during the period. Statistics show Beijing reported retail sales of 189.76 billion yuan (23.4 billion US dollars), up 10.8 percent, and the per capita spending on consumption of urban residents increased 9.4 percent to 8,581.4 yuan.

The auto market was recovering gradually during the eight months, when a total of 368,000 motor vehicles were sold, up 20.4 percent year-on-year. Of the total, the number of new motor vehicles grew by 14.5 percent to 245,000 sets.

In August, said the bureau, the per capita disposable income of Beijing urban residents was 1,415.5 yuan, a yearly rise of 11.5 percent, or a real growth of 10 percent allowing for price hike.

Source: Xinhua