BEIJING — China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 8 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Dec 16.

The indicator of consumption dipped from an increase of 8.1 percent registered in the first 10 months.

Sales of the consumer goods totaled 37.29 trillion yuan (about $5.33 trillion) from January to November. Excluding sales of automobiles, the growth rate reached 9 percent during the period.

In November alone, total amount of retail sales expanded 8 percent to hit 3.81 trillion yuan, with the pace of growth 0.8 percentage points faster from October.

In the first 11 months, retail sales in rural areas rose 9 percent, outpacing the 7.9-percent expansion in urban areas.

Online sales continued to report robust expansion, with a year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent to stand at 9.5 trillion yuan, NBS data showed.

In terms of consumption types, the revenue of the catering industry gained 9.4 percent year-on-year to 4.19 trillion yuan, while the retail sales of commodities climbed 7.9 percent year-on-year.

China pledged to promote consumption upgrading and give play to the underpinning role of consumption.