China's retail, services sales boom during Dragon Boat Festival

BEIJING - China's sales of consumer goods and services expanded year-on-year during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and catering and hospitality sectors posted substantial recovery, official data showed.

Retail sales nationwide during the three-day holiday ending Sunday climbed 9.5 percent year-on-year, said the State Tax Administration. Sales of daily necessities like staple foods, oil, vegetables, fruits, eggs and meat shot up 28.4 percent from a year earlier.

Services sales grew 12.9 percent over last year, led by housekeeping with a 27.4-percent surge, the data showed.

The holiday also saw sales of the catering and hospitality sectors restoring 83.8 percent and 92 percent of last year's level, respectively.