China's retail sales, a key gauge of domestic consumption in the world's second-biggest economy, are likely to post slower growth this year compared with 2014, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said.
Retail sales may expand around 10.7 percent in 2015, Shen Danyang, spokesman of the MOFCOM, told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, without giving a reason.
Retail sales rose 12 percent last year.
The domestic consumer market was stable this year and it gained momentum in recent months, Shen said.
In November, retail sales increased by an annual 11.2 percent - the strongest monthly expansion this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on December 12.
With November featuring the online-shopping frenzy Singles' Day, total retail sales stood at 2.79 trillion yuan ($434 billion) last month, according to the NBS.
In the 11 months ending November, total sales rose 10.6 percent from a year earlier to 27.23 trillion yuan, unchanged from the growth for the first 10 months.
Strong retail sales indicate that pro-consumption policies are taking effect.
It also offers relief for policymakers as they try to restructure the economy to a more consumption- and service-driven model to sustain growth, albeit at a slower rate.
China's external outlook remains gloomy, many companies say.
Chinese companies said global demand this year was worse than that during 2008-09 financial crisis, according to a recent survey by the MOFCOM of more than 6,000 firms in 70 key industries.
Subdued external demand, rising costs, slowing investment growth and the yuan's appreciation have all weighed on China's trade performance this year, Shen said.
"Feedback from firms showed foreign trade was extremely difficult this year," he said.
China's net exports are likely to contribute around 12.3 percent to the increase in the country's GDP this year, according to Shen. The estimate is based on data from a research unit under his ministry.
