Singapore’s retail sales rise 2.2% in May

Singapore’s retail sales were reported to have increased at an annualized rate of 2.2% in May, while rebounding from a 1.2% drop in April.

In May, sales rebounded for cosmetics, toiletries & medical goods (3.1% YoY after a 4.6% YoY slump in April), furniture & household equipment (1.2% YoY after a 2.4% YoY drop in April), watches & jewelry (7.4% YoY after a 1% YoY drop in April) and for other goods (2.2% YoY after a 0.4% YoY dip in April).

In the meantime, sales dropped at a softer rate for department stores (-2.8% YoY versus -8.4% YoY in April), supermarkets & hypermarkets (-1.1% YoY versus -3.1% YoY), mini-marts & convenience stores (-3.5% YoY versus -7.2% YoY), wearing apparel & footwear (-6.8% YoY versus -15.8% YoY) and for recreational goods (-5.8% YoY versus -7.3% YoY).

In May, retail sales slowed for motor vehicles (19.5% YoY versus 25% YoY in April) and at petrol service stations (0.9% YoY versus 3% YoY in April).

On the other hand, sales continued to decrease for optical goods & books (-6.7% YoY versus -5.5% YoY in April) and for computer & telecommunications equipment (-1.6% YoY versus -1.6% YoY in April).

The USD/SGD currency pair settled 0.23% lower at 1.3484 on Friday. For the week, the exotic currency pair went down 0.53%.