Trade-in program significantly boosts consumer goods sales in China's Xinjiang

Trade-in program significantly boosts consumer goods sales in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Consumer goods trade-in program has generated over 11.6 billion yuan (about 1.61 billion U.S. dollars) in consumption this year in Xinjiang as of Wednesday, according to local authorities.

The region has continued to enhance its policies on promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, with measures such as streamlining service procedures and expanding subsidy coverage to further unleash spending potentials of consumers.

This year, Xinjiang expanded the scope of its home appliance trade-in program from eight to 12 categories by adding water purifiers, dishwashers, rice cookers, and microwave ovens.

Additionally, new subsidies have been introduced for digital products including mobile phones, tablets, and smart watches (or smart bands).

These efforts have significantly boosted consumer enthusiasm, with retailers across the region reporting notable growth in sales performance.

As of May 14, Xinjiang had received 11,163 applications for vehicle scrapping and renewal subsidies and 40,699 applications for vehicle replacement subsidies.

Meanwhile, subsidies were granted for the purchase of 452,000 new digital devices, 553,000 home appliances under the trade-in scheme, 108,000 electric bicycles, and 92,000 upgraded kitchen and bathroom items.

The U.S. dollar closed almost flat in late trading on Monday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, went up 0.01 percent to 98.035 at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.1767 dollars from 1.1777 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.3507 dollars from 1.35 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 156.03 Japanese yen, lower than 156.50 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar advanced to 0.7896 Swiss francs from 0.7891 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3684 Canadian dollars from 1.3672 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 9.1802 Swedish kronor from 9.16 Swedish kronor.