N China industrial city sees robust growth of consumption

Tianjin, an important industrial city in north China, saw robust growth of consumption in the first eight months this year, according to the municipal bureau of statistics.

From January to August, retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 78.41 billion yuan (9.8 billion US dollars) in the city, a rise of 13.6 percent from a year earlier.

In August, retail sales of consumer goods totaled 9.47 billion yuan (1.17 billion US dollars), up 13.9 percent.

The catering industry increased its sales to 1.3 billion yuan (160.5 million US dollars) in August, up 28.9 percent over the same period of last year. The sales of durable goods rose by 17.9 percent.

In the first eight months this year, the per capita expenditure of urban residents was 6,131 yuan (757 US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 10 percent.

In August, the per capita expenditure was 782 yuan (96.5 US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 8.3 percent, with 289 yuan (35.7 US dollars) going to service consumption, up 13.4 percent over the same period last year.

According to the statistics, the urban expenditures on medical care and housing grew by 50.8 percent and 33.8 percent respectively.

Source: Xinhua