BEIJING — China's consumer spending continued to gather steam in November, solidifying its role as a key growth engine amid the economic recovery, official data showed on Dec 15.

The retail sales of consumer goods went up 5 percent year-on-year to 3.95 trillion yuan (about $603.7 billion) in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The growth picked up from the 4.3-percent gain in October, sustaining the upward momentum since the major consumption gauge posted its first positive growth this year in August.

Excluding auto consumption, retail sales went up 4.2 percent year-on-year last month.

Consumption in rural areas gained 5.6 percent, outpacing a rise of 4.9 percent in urban regions.

In the first 11 months, retail sales went down 4.8 percent year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 1.1 percentage points from the drop in the January-October period.

Online consumption remained a bright spot, with online retail sales rising 11.5 percent year-on-year in the January-November period.

Meanwhile, a closer look at the data revealed that upgraded demand has pushed up the consumption growth, led by sales of telecommunication equipment, cosmetics and jewelry.

"As the economy gradually recovers to normalized growth, consumption will remain a major engine underpinning the economic growth," NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui noted.