Singapore retail sales rise by 7.6 pct year on year in January

SINGAPORE, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales increased by 7.6 percent Year-on-Year in January, compared to a 5.8 percent decrease last December, the Department of Statistics of Singapore announced on Tuesday.

The retail sales increased by 0.2 percent month-on -month on a seasonally adjusted basis in January, compared to a 2.3 percent decrease in the previous month.

The authority said excluding motor vehicles, January's retail sales rose 5.3 percent Year-on-Year but dropped 1.5 percent month-on-month.

Singapore's total retail sales value in January was estimated at 4.2 billion Singapore dollars (about 3.1 billion U.S. dollars). The estimated proportion of online retail sales to total retail sales is 4.8 percent.

In January, the sales of food and beverage services increased by 5.9 percent Year-on-Year but decreased by 2.1 percent month-on-month. The sales value was estimated at 862 million Singapore dollars (about 635.6 million U.S. dollars).