Singapore retail sales up 13% in August, extending July’s growth

SINGAPORE’S retail sales continued to rise year on year in August, but declined on a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, according to the latest figures from the Department of Statistics (Singstat) on Wednesday (Oct 5).

Total retail sales went up by 13 per cent year on year in August, extending the 13.9 per cent increase of the previous month. But on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales were down 1.3 per cent, reversing a 0.7 per cent increase in July.

While the latest figures fell short of forecasts, most economists were optimistic that retail sales will continue to be buoyed by the continued recovery of domestic consumption and international travel.