Singapore retail sales up 5% in April

RETAIL sales for April expanded 5 per cent year on year, buoyed by double-digit sales growth in motor vehicles.

Stripping out sales of vehicles - which were up 56.4 per cent - sales for the month were down marginally by 0.7 per cent, according to figures from the Department of Statistics on Monday.

The total retail sales value for April clocked S$3.3 billion, up from S$3.1 billion a year ago.

Other categories which posted higher year on year sales included telecommunications apparatus & computers (3.8 per cent), department stores (3.4 per cent) as well as watches & jewellery (3 per cent).

Compared against the previous month, retail sales edged up 0.8 per cent in April - both including and excluding sales of motor vehicles.