Business

Published: Friday August 14, 2009 MYT 3:27:00 PM

Singapore retail sales falls for ninth consecutive month


SINGAPORE: Singapore retail sales dropped for the ninth consecutive mouth in June as the city-state slowly emerges from a severe recession.

Retail sales fell 8.2 percent from a year earlier after dropping 10.4 percent in May and 11.7 percent in April, the statistics department said in a statement Friday.

Rising job losses and a slump in tourist arrivals have undermined retail sales.

Singapore's economy grew for the first quarter in a year in the April to June period as gross domestic product expanded an annualized seasonally adjusted 20.7 percent.

Sales of motor vehicles fell 23 percent, jewelry and watches dropped 13 percent, and apparel and footwear slid 2.5 percent, the department said. Computer and telecom equipment sales jumped 14 percent as retailers slashed prices.

Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent from May. - AP


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