Motor vehicles help December retail sales rise 2.9%

MOTOR vehicles lifted Singapore's retail sales to a 2.9 per cent year-on-year growth in December 2015 from what would otherwise have been a 3.6 per cent decline, according to the Department of Statistics.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales in December declined by 2.1 per cent against November including motor vehicles. Excluding vehicles, retail sales would have declined by 2.8 per cent month on month.

Total retail sales in December were estimated at S$4.1 billion, compared to S$4 billion a year earlier.

The sale of food and beverages (F&B) declined by 5.7 per cent year on year, to S$665 million. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the F&B decline was 1.8 per cent versus November.

Motor-vehicle sales jumped 62.5 per cent year on year, the single largest growth among the retail sectors. Against November, motor-vehicle sales grew by 1.6 per cent.

Telecommunications apparatus and computers had the sharpest year-on-year fall, with retail sales dropping 26.4 per cent. Month-on-month sales fell 8.9 per cent for the sector.