BEIJING — China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 12.4 percent year-on-year in May this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on June 16.

Retail sales in May were 9.3 percent higher from the same month of 2019. The two-year average growth was 4.5 percent.

In the January-May period, retail sales surged 25.7 percent year-on-year, with the two-year average growth standing at 4.3 percent, according to the NBS.

The growth reversed from declines seen in the first five months last year, when consumer spending was disrupted by the COVID-19 epidemic.