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

BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- 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.