Singapore's retail sales declined unexpectedly in February, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.
Retail sales fell 3.2 percent year-over-year in February, confounding economists' expectations for a 4.0 percent climb. In January, sales had grown 7.6 percent.
The annual decline in February was largely caused by a 34.7 percent slump in sales of food and beverages. Excluding motor vehicles, total retail sales plunged by 9.6 percent.
Sales at supermarkets dipped 7.1 percent and those of department stores slid by 10.5 percent. At the same time, sales of motor vehicles alone grew by 51.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent in February, reversing a 1.1 percent fall seen in January. The expected rate of increase was only 0.6 percent.
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