Shanghai retail sales up 9.6pc

Shanghai's retail sales rose a year-on-year 9.6 per cent to 71.34 billion yuan in the first half of this year. The turnover represented roughly half of the city's target of 147 billion yuan in retail sales for all of 1998, city government sources said. Despite the rise, the city's retail market showed signs of softness in the first half of this year. Many shops have been offering hefty discounts to spur sales. Shanghai's economy has been slowing in recent months in line with a national trend mainly due to weakening domestic consumer demand and the region's financial crisis.