Worsening retail sales suggest Singapore still under pressure: BBVA

Domestic economy still vulnerable despite regional resurgence.

According to BBVA, Singapore’s retail sales contracted in September by -0.5% m/m (consensus: 1.5% m/m) after a 1.0% m/m expansion in August, as motor vehicle sales and food & beverage sales weakened.

"Taken in a broader context, Singapore’s economy has been slowing (third quarter growth was a seasonally adjusted annualized -1.5%), but domestic demand had previously proved to be resilient due to a tight labor market, providing a partial offset to weak exports," said BBVA.

"However, today’s outturn shows the domestic economy is still under downward pressure, despite increasingly positive data outturns around the region that suggest a bottoming out of the slowdown," it noted.