Car sales drive down August retail figures

Singapore

RETAIL sales slipped 7.8 per cent year on year in August as sales of motor vehicles took a nose dive, according to data released by the Department of Statistics (DOS) yesterday.

Excluding motor vehicles - which saw receipts drop 41.5 per cent from the corresponding month a year earlier - sales for August edged up 1.4 per cent.

"The main drag was again motor vehicle sales which plunged 41.5 per cent year on year in August, after they slumped 42.7 per…