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Singapore’s Q4 domestic wholesale trade up from Q3 but flat year-on-year
DOMESTIC wholesale trade expanded by 10.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the fourth quarter of 2016 over the previous quarter, due partly to higher prices of petroleum and chemical products.
Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade went up 5.3 per cent. After removing the price effect, overall domestic wholesale trade grew by 0.5 per cent over the previous quarter.
Compared to the same period a year ago, growth rate for domestic wholesale trade was flat in fourth quarter 2016. Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade fell 3.7 per cent. After adjusting for price changes, overall domestic wholesale trade registered a year-on-year decrease of 7.4 per cent.
Business receipts for general wholesale trade went up 28.2 per cent quarter on quarter – the highest among the different sectors. This was followed by ship chandlers and bunkering, petroleum and petroleum products, as well as household equipment and furniture.
Transport equipment clocked the steepest fall of 12.3 per cent over the previous quarter, followed by telecommunications and computers, as well as metals, timber and construction materials.
On a year-on-year basis, business receipts for household equipment and furniture jumped the most at 33.5 per cent, while telecommunications and computers fared the worst, falling 27 per cent.
The Department of Statistics on Monday said that foreign wholesale trade rose 9.1 per cent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, over third quarter 2016. Excluding petroleum, it expanded by 7.7 per cent over the previous quarter. After removing the price effect, overall foreign wholesale trade registered a decrease of 0.5 per cent.
On a year-on-year basis, foreign wholesale trade grew 9.1 per cent. Excluding petroleum, it went up 10.4 per cent. After adjusting for price changes, overall foreign wholesale trade increased 1.8 per cent year-on-year.
Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-q4-domestic-wholesale-trade-up-from-q3-but-flat-year-on-year