Singapore January retail sales rise 2% from year earlier

[SINGAPORE] Singapore's retail sales in January rose from a year earlier thanks to an increase of supermarket as well as food and beverage sales, data showed on Friday.

Total retail sales rose 2 per cent from a year earlier, after increasing by a revised 0.7 per cent in the previous month, according to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Retail sales of supermarkets and the food and beverages sector rose 13 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in January from the year before.

On a month-on-month and seasonally-adjusted basis, total retail sales fell 1.5 per cent in January after a revised 0.8 per cent drop in the previous month.

REUTERS