Singapore retail sales up 0.9% in May

A surge in takings at petrol pump stations lifted Singapore‘s retail sales in May, though a broad fall in sales by food retailers and other consumer goods sellers has left shops and restaurants here worried.

Total retail turnover in May was S$3.7 billion, up 0.9 per cent from May last year, according to Department of Statistics data out on Wednesday (July 12).

This was due mainly to a 11.3 per cent jump in sales at petrol service stations, a 4.5 per cent rise in sales of medical goods and toiletries, as a well as a 2 per cent rise in motor vehicle sales.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 0.6 per cent from May last year.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales dropped 1 per cent in May over the previous month. Excluding motor vehicles, takings were down by a bigger margin of 3 per cent.