Singapore, July 15 : Singapore retail sales in May rose 3.2 percent on year, reversing the adjusted 0.3 percent year-on-year fall in April, the city-state's Department of Statistics said.

The retail sales still grew by 3.1 percent on year after excluding motor vehicles, reported Xinhua.

The figure was released Monday after the better-than-expected GDP growth of 3.7 percent on year in the second quarter.

Most sectors saw retail sales up in May. Retailers of telecommunications apparatus and computers recorded the largest increase of 8.1 percent in sales from the previous year. Sectors of watches and jewellery, supermarkets, and food and beverages also grew strongly, with respective annual growth of 7.2 percent, 7.1 percent and 6.1 percent.

On the other hand, retail sales of furniture and household equipment registered a decrease of 9.0 percent on year, while that of petrol service stations dropped 2.6 percent on year.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales increased 2.1 percent in May. Excluding motor vehicles, it went up by a smaller extent of 0.9 percent. (IANS)