Singapore retail sales rise in October, following surge in demand for motor vehicles

Retail sales in Singapore rose during the month of October, albeit at the same pace as in last month, following surge in demand for motor vehicles and luxury goods.

Singapore's retail sales climbed 2.2 percent year-over-year in October, the same rate of gain as in the previous month, which was revised up from a 2.0 percent increase reported earlier. That was well above the 0.3 percent rise expected by economists, data released by the Department of Statistics showed Thursday.

The annual growth in October was mainly driven by a 14.5 percent surge in sales of motor vehicles. Excluding motor vehicles, retail trade dropped 0.3 percent. Sales at petrol service stations advanced 3.4 percent and sales of recreational goods grew by 5.6 percent.

Similarly, sales of food and beverages rose 1.0 percent and sales at department stores registered an increase of 0.8 percent. Month-on-month, retail sales went up a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent in October, reversing a 0.6 percent drop in September.

Meanwhile, the total sales volume is estimated at SGD3.7 billion, higher than the SGD3.6 billion in October last year.