Retail sales up 0.9% on-year in June, boosted by vehicle sales

Retail sales in Singapore rose 0.9 per cent in June compared with the previous year, mainly due to a jump in sales of motor vehicles, the Department of Statistics (SingStat) said on Monday (Aug 15).

However, excluding motor vehicles, retail sales dipped 3.0 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales were down 1.5 per cent in June. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales dropped 3.7 per cent.

The total retail sales value in Juune was estimated at S$3.6 billion, similar to a year ago.

Retailers of motor vehicles recorded a sales increase of 17.1 per cent compared to the previous year, the highest increase of all sectors. The next best performing sector was furniture and household equipment, which saw a 5.8 per cent increase. The medical goods and toiletries sector also recorded an increase of 3.0 per cent.

Other than the mini-marts and convenience stores section, which was unchanged, all other sectors were in the red.

According to SingStat, the telecommunications apparatus and computers sector fell the most at 25.1 per cent, compared with the previous year. This was followed by petrol service stations, which fell 14.1 per cent, and recreational goods, which saw a 11.8 per cent dip.

Sales of food and beverage services rose 0.4 per cent from the previous year. The total sales value of food and beverage services in June was estimated at S$649 million, higher than the S$646 million in June 2015.

The Retail Sales Index and the Food and Beverage Services Index measure the short-term performance of retail and F&B service industries based on their sales records. The sales figures exclude taxes such as GST and COE.