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PR Newswire
14-05-2011, 11:49 AM
The Straits Times
May 14, 2011
Car sales surge boosts March retail spending
By Fiona Chan, Assistant Money Editor
AN UNEXPECTED jump in car purchases lifted overall retail sales in March over February, even as shoppers pulled back on spending elsewhere.
Motor vehicle sales shot up 33.9 per cent month on month, boosting retail sales by 4.7 per cent, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) yesterday.
If motor vehicles were excluded, retail sales would have dropped 1.3 per cent.
Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng attributed the surge in car sales to the Government's announcement in January that the quota cuts in Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) scheduled for this year would be spread out over the next three years.
This could have 'caused some front-loading of car buying', he said.
Demand may also have been spurred by a fall in average COE premiums in February for the second straight month, as well as by a post-Chinese New Year effect, Mr Kit added.
But he noted car sales are volatile and he does not expect buying numbers to stay strong for long.
Apart from higher spending on cars and furniture and household equipment, and in petrol stations, sales of all other product categories dipped.
Clothing and footwear retailers, in particular, sold 5.1 per cent less between February and March, said the DOS.
Shoppers also spent 2.4 per cent less on watches and jewellery, 2.3 per cent less in provision and sundry shops, and 2.2 per cent less in department stores.
On a year-on-year basis, retail sales rose 0.8 per cent in March over the same month a year ago. Taking out motor vehicles, sales would have increased by 7 per cent.
But while consumers spent 15.3 per cent less on cars in March compared with a year ago, they stepped up expenditure on almost everything else, from food and beverages to clothes, shoes, watches, jewellery, furniture and toiletries.
Growing visitor arrivals are likely to support tourist spending in Singapore in the months ahead, while a tight labour market will also increase domestic spending power, Mr Kit said.
However, the strong Singdollar may have a restraining effect on sales by making goods here more expensive for tourists and encouraging locals to buy more products from overseas, he added.
May 14, 2011
Car sales surge boosts March retail spending
By Fiona Chan, Assistant Money Editor
AN UNEXPECTED jump in car purchases lifted overall retail sales in March over February, even as shoppers pulled back on spending elsewhere.
Motor vehicle sales shot up 33.9 per cent month on month, boosting retail sales by 4.7 per cent, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) yesterday.
If motor vehicles were excluded, retail sales would have dropped 1.3 per cent.
Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng attributed the surge in car sales to the Government's announcement in January that the quota cuts in Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) scheduled for this year would be spread out over the next three years.
This could have 'caused some front-loading of car buying', he said.
Demand may also have been spurred by a fall in average COE premiums in February for the second straight month, as well as by a post-Chinese New Year effect, Mr Kit added.
But he noted car sales are volatile and he does not expect buying numbers to stay strong for long.
Apart from higher spending on cars and furniture and household equipment, and in petrol stations, sales of all other product categories dipped.
Clothing and footwear retailers, in particular, sold 5.1 per cent less between February and March, said the DOS.
Shoppers also spent 2.4 per cent less on watches and jewellery, 2.3 per cent less in provision and sundry shops, and 2.2 per cent less in department stores.
On a year-on-year basis, retail sales rose 0.8 per cent in March over the same month a year ago. Taking out motor vehicles, sales would have increased by 7 per cent.
But while consumers spent 15.3 per cent less on cars in March compared with a year ago, they stepped up expenditure on almost everything else, from food and beverages to clothes, shoes, watches, jewellery, furniture and toiletries.
Growing visitor arrivals are likely to support tourist spending in Singapore in the months ahead, while a tight labour market will also increase domestic spending power, Mr Kit said.
However, the strong Singdollar may have a restraining effect on sales by making goods here more expensive for tourists and encouraging locals to buy more products from overseas, he added.
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