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May Day holiday retail sales up 9%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-03 20:44

BEIJING -- China's retail sales climbed 9 percent from a year ago to about 12 billion yuan ($1.76 billion) during the 3-day May Day holiday, the Ministry of Commerce said Sunday.

The estimate was based on sales from May 1 to May 3 at 1,000 major domestic retailers monitored by the ministry.

The ministry said robust sales were reported for gold, jewelry, home appliances and autos, as retailers launched promotion campaigns.

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Sales of gold and other jewelry rose 19.6 percent, the ministry said, without giving specific figures.

However, it said the Beijing Caishikou Department Store, a major gold retailer in the capital, saw its sales nearly double to 14.3 million yuan on May 1 alone.

Sales of appliances, such as LCD TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and lap-tops, increased 11.4 percent, while those of automobiles grew 9.2 percent.