Singapore's retail sales down 3.2 pct year-on-year in February

Singapore's retail sales fell 3.2 percent in February on a year-on-year basis, mainly due to a fall in the food and beverage sector, said the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) on Friday.

However, when compared with the previous month, retail sales rose by 1.7 percent in February. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales declined 1.1 percent.

The total retail sales value in February was estimated at 3.4 billion Singapore dollars (2.5 billion U.S. dollars), lower than 3.5 billion Singapore dollars (2.6 billion dollars) in February in 2015.

Compared to February 2015, retail sales of food and beverages decreased 34.7 percent in February 2016. Conversely, retail sales of motor vehicles increased 51.3 percent over the previous year. Retail sales of medical goods and toiletries, mini-marts and convenience stores also grew by 4.1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively over the same period.

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. Endit