(Yicai Global) April 17 -- China's retail sales dropped 19 percent annually in the first quarter to about CNY7.86 trillion (USD1.11 trillion), hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, according to data the country’s National Bureau of Statistics published today.

An Yicai Global survey of 24 chief economists at major Chinese financial institutions found they predicted, on average, that first-quarter retail sales contracted 9.39 percent.

The data is a slight improvement on that in the first two months, when they declined by over one-fifth.

They fell nearly 16 percent last month.

Editor: Ben Armour