(RTTNews) - Retail sales in Singapore rose 20.1% in December from November at current prices, following a 3.4% fall in the previous month, a report by the Department of Statistics said Friday. Excluding motor vehicle sales, retail sales increased 20.6%.

After adjusting for seasonal effects, retail sales increased 2.7% month-on-month in December, after declining 5.2% in the previous month. Excluding motor vehicles, sales were down 2.9%.

During the month, the fastest rise in sales of 40.1% was of apparel and footwear, followed by a 39.2% increase in sales of recreational goods. Double digit rise in sales was also seen in many other categories including motor vehicles, food & beverages, watches and jewelry, furniture & household equipment as also optical goods & books. On the other hand, retail sales showed a fall of 7.4% in petrol service stations.

Year-on-year, retail sales fell 1.6% in December, and excluding motor vehicles, it fell 3.7%. Economists expected sales to fall 5.6%.

The steepest drop in retail sales of 14.9% was for watches and jewelry, followed by a 14.6% fall in retail sales in petrol service stations. On the other hand, the biggest rise in sales of 14.9% was in provision & sundry shops.

In December, retail sales at constant prices fell 3.9% year-on-year, but rose 19.9% month-on-month in December.

Retail sales were valued SG$ 3.1 billion in December, up from SG$ 2.6 billion in November.

Meanwhile, the catering trade index increased 1% year-on-year in December, reflecting a 7.3% rise in sales from fast food outlets, a 3.9% increase from food caterers and a 0.8% growth from restaurants. However, retail sales from other eating places fell 2.1%.

Month-on-month, catering trade rose 7.5% in December. Sales from all activities showed a rise, with the fastest increase in sales of 12.9% seen in restaurants.

Adjusting for price effects, volume of catering trade declined 3.8% year-on-year in December, but rose 6.9% from November.

Value of catering trade totaled SG$456 million in December, representing an increase from SG$ 424 million in the previous month.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2009 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email