SINGAPORE: Retail sales in the city-state rose more than expected in December as consumers rushed to buy items such as automobiles, watches and jewellery before last month's increase in sales tax.
The Statistics Department said retail sales rose 9.7% that month from a year earlier. The median forecast of six economists surveyed by Bloomberg Data was for a rise of 7.2%. Retail sales, seasonally adjusted, rose 5.2% from November.
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