Beijing, June 11 (IANS) China’s home appliance sales growth nearly came to a halt in May, stoking concerns about an economic downturn, a media report said Monday.
Sales last month totalled 49.9 billion yuan ($7.83 billion), up by 0.5 percent from a year earlier, and a sharp drop from April’s 7.7 percent annual growth rate, the National Bureau of Statistics Saturday (NBS) said Sunday.
“The two main reasons for the dismal sales growth are weak overseas sales owing to economic uncertainty, and the domestic off-season in the home appliance industry,” People’s Daily reported quoting Luo Qingqi, director of Pa Le Consulting Corp.
Analysts said the ongoing curbs on the real estate market and the economic slowdown are also factors behind the weak sales.
On May 23, the World Bank cut its 2012 economic growth forecast for the country to 8.2 percent from the previous prediction of 8.4 percent in January, suggesting measures needed to stabilize growth for the world’s second largest economy.
