Singapore’s retail sales up 2 per cent in January year-on-year

• Mar 11, 2017

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) – Singapore’s retail sales increased by 2.0 per cent in January year-on-year, said the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) on Friday.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales decreased 1.5 per cent in January 2017, SingStat added. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales decreased 1.3 per cent.

The total retail sales value in January 2017 was estimated at 4.1 billion Singapore dollars (2.9 billion US dollars), higher than 4 billion Singapore dollars (2.82 billion US dollars) in January 2016.

Retail sales supermarkets rose by 13.0 per cent year-on-year. Retail sales of food and beverages and petrol service stations also grew by 12.0 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively over the same period.

On the contrary, sales for furniture and household equipment as well as optical goods and books fell 9.7 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively in January 2017. Retail sales of mini-marts and convenience stores and recreational goods also decreased between 2.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent during this period.

Durians are seen for sale in Singapore’s Little India district. – AFP

Sales of food and beverage services increased 5.2 per cent in January 2017 compared to the previous month.

The total sales value of food and beverage services in January 2017 was estimated at 739 million Singapore dollars (520.61 million US dollars), higher than the 714 million Singapore dollars (503.06 million US dollars) in the same period of 2016.

The Retail Sales Index and the Food and Beverage Services Index measure the short-term performance of retail and food and beverage service industries based on their sales records. The sales figures exclude taxes.

Source: http://borneobulletin.com.bn/singapores-retail-sales-2-per-cent-january-year-year/