China's retail sales, the main gauge of consumer spending in the world's fastest-growing economy, rose 17.9 percent year on year to 3.6374 trillion yuan (US$532.56 billion) in the first quarter this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The figure was 2.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year, said NBS spokesman Li Xiaochao.

Urban consumption hit 3.06 trillion yuan, up 18.4 percent year on year, while rural residents spent 580.3 billion yuan, up 15.4 percent.

The catering sector generated sales of 407.7 billion yuan, a rise of 16.7 percent from a year earlier while commodities retail sales increased 18.1 percent to 3.23 trillion yuan, the NBS said.

Boosted by a series of government measures, sales of cars, furniture and home appliances and AV equipment jumped 39.8 percent, 37.6 percent and 29.6 percent, respectively.

The government rolled out subsidies and tax breaks for home appliances and cars in early 2009 to offset the decline in exports prompted by the global economic downturn and to boost domestic consumption.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2010)