Chinese Consumers Open Wallets as Malaise Lifted During Holidays

Chinese households picked up their pace of spending over the recent Labor Day extended holiday weekend, according to preliminary figures economists are assessing for a turnaround from a disappointing March.

The five-day break saw a 14.3% jump in consumer sales from the same holiday last year, based on value-added tax invoices from the State Taxation Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. That’s slightly faster than the 13.7% increase seen at the last major holiday — the February Lunar New New Year break — the data showed.