SINGAPORE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Retail sales in Singapore increased by 1.3 percent year-on-year in January, compared to the 0.5 percent decrease in December last year, according to data released by the Department of Statistics Tuesday.
The increase was mainly attributed to a 37.3 percent growth in motor vehicle sales. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 2.1 percent in the city state in January.
The estimated total value of retail sales in December reached 4.3 billion Singapore dollars (3.2 billion U.S. dollars), including 11.2 percent from online retail sales. ■