Singapore: Retail Sales surprised to the upside in May – UOB

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

Alvin Liew, Senior Economist at UOB Group, reviews the latest results from the retail sector in Singapore.

Key Takeaways

“Singapore’s retail sales improved further with a better-than-expected 17.8% y/y expansion in May (from 12.1% in Apr). Retail sales excluding motor vehicles rose even higher by 22.6% y/y (from 17.4% in Apr). On a sequential seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales rose by 1.8% m/m, following the slightly revised print of 1.1% in Apr, the 3rd consecutive month of m/m increase. Excluding motor vehicle sales, the m/m increase was higher at 2.7%, (from 1.6% in Apr).”

“While the robust May retail sales growth added to a solid foundation for domestic demand in 2Q22, it should be noted that the y/y increase was distorted by the low base effect of May 2021 when COVID-19 restriction measures were in place, such as international travel restrictions. Nevertheless, the decent m/m rise continued to signal an improving domestic retail and F&B environment in tandem with a tighter labour market and more importantly, a return of tourist demand.”

“Year-to-date, retail sales grew by 9.6%. Barring the re-emergence of fresh COVID-19-related risks in Singapore and around the region (leading to re-imposition of social and travel restrictions, which is not our base case), we now expect retail sales to expand by 9.0% in 2022 (from previous forecast of 6%) as base effects are likely to continue to uplift retail sales growth prints in the coming months.”

Author

Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

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