Chinese New Year includes sales bump

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Retail and restaurant sales in China rose 14.7 percent during the 2013 Lunar New Year Festival compared to the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Stores and restaurants earned $85.5 billion in the week, the ministry said.

Food sales rose 9..8 percent, while jewelry sales rose 38.1 percent. Clothing sales rose 6.3 percent, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday.

Due to a national campaign to encourage thrift, sales at luxury restaurants was down. Sales at top-end restaurants in the well-off Zhenjiang Province were down 20 percent, the ministry said.