2024.04.0507:16:00UTC+00Singapore Retail Sales Surge 8.4%

Singapore's retail sales expanded at the fastest pace in a year in February, largely led by higher sales demand for food and alcohol, preliminary data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Retail sales surged 8.4 percent year-on-year in February, much faster than the 1.8 percent gain in January.

Sales excluding motor vehicles grew 9.4 percent from last year, versus a 1.8 percent decrease in the prior month.

There was a 31.4 percent jump in sales of food and alcohol from last year. Retailers in the watch and jewelry industries saw annual growth in sales of 16.8 percent. Sales at supermarkets and hypermarkets alone rose by 19.2 percent.

Data showed that the online sales proportion was 10.9 percent of the overall retail sales in February.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rebounded a seasonally adjusted 3.0 percent in February after falling 0.5 percent in the prior month.

Sales of food and beverage services climbed 14.7 percent year-on-year in February, reversing a 5.5 percent drop in January.