Singapore retail sales improve

Singapore retail sales improved in April, according to data from the Department of Statistics.

In March, retail sales excluding motor vehicles, slumped 3.2 per cent. But in April they recovered a little, rising 0.8 per cent.

Year on year sales were down 0.7 per cent on April 2014, although with motor vehicles included in the figure they rose five per cent.

Total retail sales in April 2015 were an estimated $3.3 billion – $200 million higher than the previous month.

Sales of food & beverage services (seasonally adjusted) increased 0.3 per cent over the previous month, but declined 1.7 per cent compared with April 2014.

The total sales value of food & beverage services in April 2015 was estimated at $615 million, lower than the $626 million in April 2014.

Singapore retail sales April 2015

* 1: At current prices. 2: Seasonally adjusted.

By category, after seasonal adjustment, sales of telecommunications apparatus & computers,
optical goods & books, medical goods & toiletries, furniture & household equipment and
supermarkets increased between 1.4 per cent and 8.6 per cent month on month.  Sales of apparel & footwear rose 0.9 per cent.

On the other side, sales of food & beverages, watches & jewellery, mini-marts & convenience stores, recreational goods and department stores decreased between 1.4 per cent and 6.8 per cent in April 2015 compared to March 2015.

Year on year, sales of telecommunications apparatus & computers, department stores, watches & jewellery and medical goods & toiletries also increased between 2.4 per cent and 3.8 per cent. In contrast, retail sales of petrol service stations decreased 21.1 per cent, partly due to lower petrol prices.

Similarly, Singapore retail sales of food & beverages, recreational goods, apparel & footwear, furniture & household equipment, mini-marts & convenience stores and optical goods & books declined between 2.6 per cent and 7.0 per cent in April 2015 over April 2014. Supermarkets recorded a decrease of 0.5 per cent in sales during the same period.

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