Singapore retail sales declined less than expected in July. Although at a slower pace, the negative trend in overall retail trade continued, largely led by plunging sales in the auto segment.
Retail sales fell 1.2% year-on-year in July, the Department of Statistics said in a report on Wednesday. This was slower than June's revised 5% decrease and the expected fall of 2.7%. Meanwhile, retail sales advanced 6% excluding the motor vehicles segment.
"Ex-auto sales volume reflects the underlying private consumption trend and it hasn't been any encouraging," Prakash Sakpal, an economist at ING Bank NV said in a note ahead of the release. Retail sales data continues to highlight the disconnect between strong GDP growth and anaemic private consumption growth, the economist added.
Due to a high certificate of entitlement cost, auto sales fell 24.8% in July from the previous year. Retailers of telecommunications apparatus and computers, food and beverages and provision and sundry shops also reported lower sales of between 1.3% and 3%.
All other retail trade activities registered positive year-on-year sales growth. Sales of watches and jewellery, medical goods and toiletries and wearing apparel and footwear recorded double-digit growths of between 10.5% and 16.9%.
Overall retail sales in the city-state economy recorded a month-on-month growth of 3.2%, reversing a drop of 0.7% in June. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 1.3%, also better than June's 1% fall.
Increasing number of tourist arrivals supported retail trade. Visitor arrivals to Singapore registered 24.1% growth to reach 1.09 million in July, the highest ever recorded visitor arrivals in the month of July, according to the Tourism Board. This was also the first time that visitor arrivals exceeded 1 million in a single month.
The report from the statistical office today showed that turnover of food caterers and fast food outlets increased 1.5% and 1% respectively in July over the previous month. Annually, receipts of food caterers surged 17.5% and that of fast food outlets advanced 10.2%.
Elsewhere, the Ministry of Manpower said the labor market performed favorably in the second quarter, supported by strong economic expansion. Employment increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, bringing the total gains in the first half of this year to 61,400.
Today, the ministry said total employment rose by around 24,900 in the second quarter compared to the previous estimate of 26,500. The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate was unchanged over the quarter at 2.2% in June 2010. The rate represented a significant improvement from 3.2% a year ago.
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