China's retail sales up 4.1% in first 5 months

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4.1 percent year on year in the first five months of 2024, official data showed Monday.

Retail sales during the period hit 19.52 trillion yuan (about 2.74 trillion U.S. dollars), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

In May alone, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.7 percent year on year to 3.92 trillion yuan, the data showed.