S'pore retail sales eke out 0.6% growth in August

Year-on-year growth beats forecasts, driven by car sales; nine categories post declines

- Timothy Goh

Singapore retail sales eked out growth in August, with strong motor vehicle sales again coming to the rescue.

Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in August from the same month a year ago, according to Department of Statistics data released on Oct 4.

This was higher than the 0.2 per cent increase forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

However, excluding motor vehicle sales, August's retail turnover declined 1.5 per cent year on year, extending a 2.3 per cent drop in July. Car sales in fact have done the heavy lifting of keeping retail sales in positive territory in the last few months.

Maybank economist Brian Lee noted that retail sales in Singapore have generally remained soft in 2024.

“Local households are opting to divert their spending budgets abroad, amid a strong Singapore dollar and high prices locally,” he said.

On a brighter note, total sales without motor vehicles rose 2 per cent from July on a seasonally adjusted basis.