BEIJING -- Retail sales in China rose 13.4 percent in August from a year earlier, slightly accelerating from the 13.2-percent increase in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics show on Tuesday.

Retail sales, a key indicator measuring consumer spending in the world's second-largest economy, also climbed 12.8 percent year on year in the first eight months of the year to 14.81 trillion yuan ($2.39 trillion).

The August growth represented the indicator's fastest pace of increase registered this year, indicating an improvement in the country's domestic demand, analysts said.

Retail sales rose 1.17 percent in August from July. The July figure increased 1.24 percent from June, the NBS said.

Meanwhile, industrial production expanded 10.4 percent in August from one year earlier, accelerating from July's 9.7-percent advance. Urban fixed-asset investment was up 20.3 percent in the January-August period, also improving from a 20.1-percent rise registered in the January-July period.