Singapore Retail Sales Growth Eases To 4.5%

(RTTNews) - Singapore's retail sales growth moderated sharply at the end of the first quarter, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Retail sales climbed 4.5 percent year-over-year in March, much slower than the 12.6 percent gain in February.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 4.1 percent yearly in March, after an 11.6 percent spike in the preceding month.

Sales of food and alcohol grew the most, by 55.0 percent from a year ago, though well below the previous month's 70.0 percent surge.

Similarly, the annual sales growth in wearing apparel and footwear eased to 26.5 percent from 38.1 percent.

Sales at department stores rose at a slower rate of 16.8 percent and those of motor vehicles climbed 7.2 percent.

Data showed that the online sales proportion was 13.0 percent of the overall retail sales in

On a monthly basis, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent in March, after rising 4.1 percent in the prior month.

Sales of food and beverage services rose 17.8 percent year-on-year in March versus a 21.6 percent expansion in the prior month.