Singapore Retail Sales Ease to 3-Month Low

Retail sales in Singapore rose by 2.7% year-on-year in December 2025, slowing from a downwardly revised and near two-year high of 6.2% gain in the previous month. This marked the weakest growth since September 2025, as sales growth moderated across several categories, including supermarkets and hypermarkets (4% vs 6.8% in November), minimarts and convenience stores (4.9% vs 8.9%), cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods (0.2% vs 12%), recreational goods (13.4% vs 14%), watches and jewelry (7.1% vs 10.9%), and optical goods and books (1% vs 5.1%). In addition, sales slipped for department stores (-1.7% vs 2.6%) and wearing apparel and footwear (-1.8% vs 6.3%), while declines deepened for food and alcohol (-7.1% vs -3.2%) and petrol service stations (-9.1% vs -6.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales tumbled to 5.4%, from a revised 0.2% fall in November, marking the steepest decline since May 2021.