(MENAFN) According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's retail sales increased 11.9 percent, hitting USD322.97 billion in April compared to a year earlier, Xinhua reported. In the January-April period, the country's retail sales increased by 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reaching USD80.2 billion, in a rate similar to that of the first quarter. NBS added that The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.8 percent in April compared to the period a year earlier, lower by 2.4 percent than March. According to an economist at the State Information Center, retail sales remained flat in the first four months as in the first three months, mainly due to the relatively low CPI.