Official Singapore retail sales data shows a 5.5 per cent year-on-year increase in September.

But take motor vehicle sales out of the equation and the month’s true retail sales were essentially static, up 0.6 per cent year-on-year after a fall of 1.6 per cent in August.

Motor vehicle dealers recorded a massive 30 per cent growth in the month.

Singapore’s Department of Statistics said month-on-month, retail sales decreased by 0.4 per cent after growing 5.3 per cent in August, a significantly lower decline than analysts had earlier predicted.