China: Jewelry Sales +37% in May

As per market reports, retail sales in China during May 2007 rose 15.9 percent to about $94 billion. (As a comparison, retail sales in the United States during May came in at about $378 billion.) China's National Bureau of Statistics reported the increase was the largest since May 2004.

For the first five months of 2007 retail sales have risen 15.2 percent to $420 billion.

Jewelry sales rose 37 percent during May, furniture sales rose 42 percent, sales of construction and decoration materials rose 63 percent, and automobile sales rose 34 percent. Retail sales grew more in urban areas (up 16.3 percent) while rural areas rose 15 percent.

It is expected that retail sales growth will top-out at 14 percent in 2007, and consumers in China will outspend their counterparts in Japan by year 2010 ranking the country second in the world behind the United States. Bank Credit Suisse is projecting annual consumer spending at about $8.8 trillion by year 2020.