This undated photo shows a tourist shops at a duty-free store in Hainan province. (MENG ZHONGDE / FOR CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING – China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 4.9 percent year-on-year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

In the January-October period, China's total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 35.85 trillion yuan, up 14.9 percent year-on-year

The country's retail sales of consumer goods totaled around 4.05 trillion yuan ($633 billion) in October, according to the NBS.

The figure increased by 9.4 percent from October 2019, putting the two-year average growth at 4.6 percent, said the NBS.

In the January-October period, China's total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 35.85 trillion yuan, up 14.9 percent year-on-year.

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This undated photo captures a worker checking the operation of a carbon fiber production line at a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. (GENG YUHE / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Industrial output up 3.5%

The nation’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.5 percent year on year in October, putting the average October growth for the past two years at 5.2 percent, data from the NBS showed.

Despite unfavorable factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, China's industrial and service sectors managed to "show an improving trend," said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui.

The output of the high-tech manufacturing sector jumped 14.7 percent year on year last month, faster than the growth pace of the overall industrial output.

Specifically, the output of new energy vehicles logged a sharp increase of 127.9 percent in October, while that of integrated circuits and industrial robots jumped 22.2 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-owned enterprises rose 5.2 percent, and the private sector's output increased 2.4 percent.

Prospective homebuyers throng a residential property fair in Dalian, Liaoning province, on April 16. (LIU DEBIN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Housing market continues to ease

China also continued to see its housing market ease in October under strengthened market regulations, according to the NBS.

New home prices in four first-tier cities stood unchanged in October from September, the same with the month-on-month change in the previous month, according to the NBS data.

Prices of second-hand homes in the four cities edged down 0.4 percent in October from that in September, the same with the month-on-month change in the previous month.

A total of 31 second-tier cities saw month-on-month decline of 0.2 percent in new home prices, while 35 third-tier cities saw month-on-month decline of 0.3 percent in new home prices.

On a yearly basis, new home prices in the four first-tier cities increased 5 percent in October, while prices of second-hand homes in the regions climbed 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

The latest data came amid the country's strict housing sector regulations, which follow the principle – "housing is for living in, not for speculation."

This file photo shows residential buildings in Yangpu district in Shanghai, on March 23, 2020. (PHOTO / SIPA)

Property investment up 7.2% in Jan-Oct

China's investment in property development rose 7.2 percent year on year in the first 10 months of this year, according to Monday's data.

During the period, property investment stood at around 12.49 trillion yuan ($1.95 trillion), NBS data showed.

Compared with the same period in 2019, property investment climbed 14 percent, putting the two-year average at 6.8 percent, NBS data showed.

Investment in residential buildings went up 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 9.43 trillion yuan in the first 10 months.

During the same period, commercial housing sales gained 7.3 percent year on year in terms of floor area to over 1.4 billion square meters, putting the two-year average growth at 3.6 percent.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales went up 11.8 percent, the data showed.

In this year's government work report, China reiterated the principle that "housing is for living in, not for speculation," vowing to keep the prices of land and housing stable, as well as market expectations.

Employees work on the production line of drills at a machinery manufacturer in Xuanhua, Hebei province. (CHEN XIAODONG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Fixed-asset investment up 6.1% in Jan-Oct

Compared with the first 10 months in 2019, China's fixed-asset investment growth came in at 7.8 percent during the period. The two-year average growth stood at 3.8 percent

The NBS also said China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) went up 6.1 percent year on year in the first 10 months of this year.

During the first 10 months, the FAI amounted to over 44.58 trillion yuan ($6.98 trillion), according to the NBS.

Compared with the 2019 level, the FAI growth came in at 7.8 percent during the period. The two-year average growth stood at 3.8 percent.

Investment by the private sectors rose 8.5 percent year on year to nearly 25.45 trillion yuan in the first 10 months, the NBS data showed.

On a month-on-month basis, FAI gained 0.15 percent in October.

In the first 10 months, investment in the primary, secondary and tertiary industries increased 11.1 percent, 11.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

Investment in manufacturing and infrastructure gained 14.2 percent and 1 percent year on year, respectively, NBS data showed.

The FAI includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.

This aerial photo taken on Oct 23, 2020 shows technicians of State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company checking power transmission lines to make sure the stable operation of local power supply in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Power generation up 3%

China's power generation stood at 639.3 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh) in October, up 3 percent year on year, according to the NBS.

The October power generation was 7.7 percent higher than the same period in 2019.

In the first 10 months, China's power generation stood at 6.7176 trillion KWh, up 10 percent year on year and 11.5 percent higher than the same period in 2019.

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In terms of categories, the growth rate of wind and nuclear power generation accelerated in October, while thermal and solar power generation slowed down last month.

Meanwhile, the NBS said on Monday that the surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in October, 0.4 percentage points lower than the same period last year.