SINGAPORE, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales increased by 2.0 percent in January year-on-year, said the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) on Friday.
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales decreased 1.5 percent in January 2017, SingStat added. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales decreased 1.3 percent.
The total retail sales value in January 2017 was estimated at 4.1 billion Singapore dollars (2.9 billion U.S. dollars), higher than 4 billion Singapore dollars (2.82 billion U.S. dollars) in January 2016.
Retail sales supermarkets rose by 13.0 percent year-on-year. Retail sales of food and beverages and petrol service stations also grew by 12.0 percent and 7.1 percent respectively over the same period.
On the contrary, sales for furniture and household equipment as well as optical goods and books fell 9.7 percent and 8.8 percent respectively in January 2017. Retail sales of mini-marts and convenience stores and recreational goods also decreased between 2.5 percent and 2.8 percent during this period.
Sales of food and beverage services increased 5.2 percent in January 2017 compared to the previous month.
The total sales value of food and beverage services in January 2017 was estimated at 739 million Singapore dollars (520.61 million U.S. dollars), higher than the 714 million Singapore dollars (503.06 million U.S. dollars) in the same period of 2016.
The Retail Sales Index and the Food and Beverage Services Index measure the short-term performance of retail and food and beverage service industries based on their sales records. The sales figures exclude taxes.
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