SINGAPORE, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales rose 8.3 percent year-on-year in February, reversing a 0.5-percent decline in January, official data showed Monday.
The growth was partly attributed to the Chinese New Year falling in February this year rather than January last year, the Singapore Department of Statistics said.
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales fell 4.1 percent in February. Total sales were estimated at 4.2 billion Singapore dollars (about 3.27 billion U.S. dollars), with online transactions accounting for 14.1 percent.
Sales in the food and beverage services sector increased 5.5 percent from a year earlier, following a 3.2 percent drop in January. Total revenue in the sector was estimated at 1.6 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.24 billion dollars), with online sales representing 20.3 percent. ■
