China's retail sales up 3.7 pct in 2025

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 3.7 percent year on year in 2025, official data showed on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Monday, Kang Yi, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that market sales scaled up, and service retail grew rapidly in 2025.

"The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 50.12 trillion yuan (about 7.15 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.7 percent over the previous year. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 43.30 trillion yuan (about 6.22 trillion U.S. dollars), up by 3.6 percent; and the retail sales in rural areas stood at 6.82 trillion yuan (about 0.98 trillion U.S. dollars), up by 4.1 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the retail sales of goods were 44.32 trillion yuan (about 6.36 trillion U.S. dollars), up by 3.8 percent; and the income of catering was 5.80 trillion yuan (about 832,27 billion U.S. dollars), up by 3.2 percent," said Kang.

Kang said that the sales of basic living goods and certain upgraded goods witnessed good momentum of growth. The retail sales of communication equipment, cultural and office supplies, supports and recreational articles, household appliances and audiovisual equipment, and grain, oil and food by enterprises above the designated size increased by 20.9 percent, 17.3 percent, 11.0 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, he added.

"The online retail sales reached 15.97 trillion yuan (about 2.29 trillion U.S. dollars), up by 8.6 percent over the previous year. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 13.08 trillion yuan (about 1.88 trillion U.S. dollars), up by 5.2 percent, accounting for 26.1 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In December, the total retail sales of consumer goods went up by 0.9 percent year on year and were down by 0.12 percent month on month. The retail sales of services in 2025 grew by 5.5 percent over the previous year," Kang said.

Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield hit 2.590 percent on Wednesday, the highest level since May 1997.

The 10-year bond yield serves as a key indicator of long-term interest rates in Japan.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. When investors actively purchase government bonds, prices rise and yields fall. Conversely, when bonds are sold off, prices drop and yields increase.