2020.06.0507:31:00UTC+00Singapore Retail Sales Decline Sharply In April

Singapore retail sales declined sharply in April as consumption decreased due to the circuit breaker measures taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Retail sales declined 40.5 percent year-on-year in April, following an 13.3 percent fall in March.

Motor vehicle sales dropped 77.0 percent annually in April, following a 28.2 percent fall in the previous month.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 32.8 percent in April, following a 9.8 percent decrease in the preceding month.

Sales of watches and jewellery declined the most, by 87.8 percent in April. Sales of wearing apparel and footwear fell 85.3 percent and sales department stores fell 84.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 31.7 percent in April, following an 1.3 percent decline in the prior month.