Retail sales fall in China for first time since 2022
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 16 Jun 2026
(Sharecast News) - Retail sales in China fell sharply in May, official data showed on Tuesday, the first slide in more than three years.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales fell 0.6% after the Labour Day holiday at the start of the month failed to offset broader weakness in consumer spending. The fall reversed April's 0.2% uplift and missed consensus for a flat print.
It was also the first decline since December 2022, when there was a resurgence of Covid-19 following the lifting of restrictions.
Fixed-asset investment was also sharply lower, down 4.1% in the first five months of the year. Economists had been expecting a far more modest decline of 1.6%.
However, in contrast industrial production surprised on the upside. It rose to 4.5%, up from 4.1% a month earlier and beating market forecasts for 4.3%, while the unemployment rate ticked modestly lower, to 5.1% from 5.2%.
NBS chief economist Fu Linghui said China was continuing on an "overall stable and positive development trend" but high temperatures and heavy rain had weighed heavily during the month, according to the Financial Times. He continued: "The contradiction between strong supply and weak demand in the domestic market remains prominent."
Lynn Song, chief economist, Greater China, at ING, said: "The divergence within China's economy is widening. Retail sales and fixed-asset investment growth both plummeted to the lowest levels since the pandemic, as domestic demand remains soft. But industrial production remains a bright spot, supported by strong external demand."
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