Singapore Retail Sales Gain; Buoyant Job Market Spurs Purchases
Singapore Retail Sales Gain; Buoyant Job Market Spurs Purchases
By Shamim Adam
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Singapore;s retail sales rose more
than expected in December as record job creation and rising
incomes boosted purchases at supermarkets and department stores.
The retail sales index gained 2.5 percent from a year
earlier, after dropping 0.3 percent in November, the Statistics
Department said today. That exceeded the median forecast of a 1.8
percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 14 economists.
Excluding vehicles, sales gained 8.9 percent.
Singapore;s jobless rate is the lowest in a decade as demand
for goods and services prompted companies to boost hiring and
raise salaries, spurring spending. Companies added more than
236,000 jobs last year as the prospect of higher wages encouraged
more people to enter the labor market.
“Domestic consumption should continue to improve largely on
account of a very strong jobs market,;; said Prakriti Sofat, an
economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Singapore. “Real incomes are
growing quite substantially.;;
Adjusted for seasonal factors, retail sales in December rose
1.7 percent from November. Excluding cars, the index fell 2.5
percent, the government said.
Vehicle sales in December dropped 12.5 percent from a year
ago. From the previous month, auto sales rose 6.5 percent.
Oil prices breached $100 a barrel last month, increasing
fuel and transport costs for consumers. The Singapore government
doesn;t subsidize pump prices, leading petrol companies to pass
on the rising gasoline and diesel costs to car owners.
Sales at petrol service stations rose 33.9 percent in
December, and gained 2.7 percent from the month before.
Department store sales jumped 9.1 percent in December from a
year earlier, and rose 33.7 percent from November, today;s report
showed.
Purchases of furniture and household equipment gained 1.4
percent from a year earlier. Apparel and footwear sales increased
13.5 percent and those of watches and jewelry advanced 6.4
percent from a year earlier.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Shamim Adam in Singapore at
