Singapore's retail sales rise 6.1 pct in May
Xinhua, July 15, 2015 Adjust font size:
Singapore's retail sales increased 6.1 percent in May on a year-on-year basis, mainly due to a spike in sales of motor vehicles, said the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) on Wednesday.
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales rose by 2.4 percent in May. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales increased 1.8 percent.
The total retail sales value in February was estimated at 3.5 billion Singapore dollars, higher than 3.3 billion Singapore dollars in May in 2014.
Sales of motor vehicles registered a record surge of 46.6 percent in May on year, while retail sales of medical goods and toiletries also rose by 10.3 percent year-on-year.
On the other hand, sales of petrol service stations and recreational goods declined by 16.2 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively, while sales of food and beverage services also saw a decrease of 3 percent.
The total sales value of food and beverage services in May 2015 was estimated at 650 million Singapore dollars, lower than the 670 million Singapore dollars in the same period of 2014.
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. Endi