SINGAPORE, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales declined 4.1 percent year on year this August, compared to a recalculated 1.5 percent decrease in July, the Department of Statistics of Singapore announced on Friday.
The retail sales decreased 1.3 percent month on month on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, compared to a 2.9 percent increase in the previous month.
The authority said excluding motor vehicles, Singapore's retail sales in August fell by one percent year on year, but grew by 2.2 percent month on month.
It added that the estimated total retail sales value in August was about 3.6 billion Singapore dollars (about 2.62 billion US dollars). Of which, online retail sales made up an estimated 5.5 percent.
According to the authority, Singapore's motor vehicles industry registered a year-on-year decline in sales of 20.3 percent in August. Similarly, the sales of the furniture and household equipment and the sales of watches and jewellery industries fell by 9.8 percent and 8.6 percent year on year respectively in the month, largely attributed to lower demand for household equipment and jewellery.
Meanwhile, the sales of food and beverage services increased 3.6 percent year on year and 1.4 percent month on month. The sales value was estimated at 916 million Singapore dollars.
