China's industrial output expanded by 18 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

The bureau said more than 98 percent of the industrial products were sold in July, 0.03 percentage points lower than the same period of last year. The export volume of industrial products stood at 608.5 billion yuan (80 billion U.S. dollars), up 22.2 percent.

China's industrial output expanded by 18.5 percent in the first half of 2007. In June alone, industrial output jumped 19.4 percent year-on-year.

Chinese retail sales in July rose 16.4 percent year-on-year to reach 699.8 billion yuan (92 billion U.S. dollars), according to the bureau.

Another major economic barometer - consumer price index (CPI)- rose by a 33-month-high 5.6 percent in July on food price hikes compared with the same period of last year, said the bureau.