China's retail sales pick up pace in October

BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer market registered more rapid growth in October as the sales of household appliances, furniture and automobiles were robust thanks to the national trade-in program.

The National Bureau of Statistics said Friday in a statement that retail sales of consumer goods went up 4.8 percent year on year last month, quickening from the 3.2 percent increase in September.

Specifically, household appliances and audio-visual equipment reported a 39.2 percent surge in combined sales compared to a year earlier, and the sales of stationery and office supplies jumped 18 percent. Furniture and automobiles also saw increases of 7.4 percent and 3.7 percent in sales, respectively.

In the first 10 months, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.5 percent from a year earlier, 0.2 percentage points higher than the January-September period.