2019.02.1203:19:00UTC+00Singapore Retail Sales Continue To Fall In December

Singapore retail sales declined in December, primarily due to a sharp contraction in automobile sales, survey data from the Department of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

Retail sales at current prices declined 6.0 percent year-on-year in December after a 2.4 percent fall in November.

Automobile sales dropped 20.7 percent year-on-year after a 15.1 percent fall in the previous month.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales declined 3.0 percent annually after rising 0.5 percent in the previous month.

Computer and telecommunications equipment sales declined 16.8 percent, the same pace as in December.

Among the few categories that registered gains, sales at medical goods and toiletries registered a rise of 1.8 percent.

Month-on-month, retail sales dropped 3.4 percent in December, in contrast to a 0.1 percent rise in November. Economists had expected sales to remain unchanged.

Retail sales ex-auto fell 4.1 percent monthly after a 1.2 percent increase in November.

On a monthly basis, sales at department stores plunged 15.7 percent.