China's retail sales reached 711.7 billion yuan (US$94.5 billion) in August, up 17.1 percent over the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

The retail sales volume totaled more than 5.6 trillion yuan from January to August, up 15.7 percent.

Retail sales volume of the accommodation and catering sectors rose 19.1 percent to 98.5 billion yuan and that of the wholesale and retail sectors were up 17.2 percent to 597.3 billion yuan.

Sales of grain and oil rose by 44 percent and that of meat, poultry and eggs by 45.2 percent.