Retail sales accelerates

Higher incomes in China led to a 12% year-over-year increase in the country's May retail sales, which totaled $59.2bn, Bloomberg reported, citing official data. Rising consumer spending is helping to sustain China's growth as Beijing puts the brakes on investment in overheated industries like real estate and steel. China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said earlier that Beijing would introduce new policies to encourage consumption and draw down savings, in an effort to raise imports and eliminate the trade surplus.