Domestic wholesale sales down 40.6% in Q2

Likewise, foreign wholesale sales dropped 30.4% over the same period.

Singapore’s domestic wholesale sales registered a 40.6% YoY plunge in Q2, due mainly to lower sales in petroleum, according to data from the Department of Statistics (SingStat).

Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale sales crashed 24.4%, no thanks to the Circuit Breaker, which resulted in lower domestic demand from various industries. Compared to the previous quarter, domestic wholesale sales dropped 35.7% QoQ in Q2.

Declines in domestic wholesale sales were recorded in all industries in the same quarter YoY, except for the food, beverages and tobacco industry. The petroleum and petroleum products industry fell 55.6% YoY, attributed to lower oil prices and weaker domestic demand.

The weak performances of the metals, timber and construction materials (-50%), transport Equipment (-48.6%) and industrial and construction machinery (-40.2%) industries were due mainly to the disruption of construction activities and lower demand for motor vehicles during the Circuit Breaker period.

In contrast, the food, beverages and tobacco industry’s domestic sales inched up 2.4% YoY, due partly to higher sales to supermarkets.

Meanwhile, foreign wholesale sales dropped 30.4% YoY in Q2, driven by a decline in petroleum sales. Excluding petroleum, foreign wholesale sales fell at a smaller rate at 6% YoY. Foreign wholesale sales also dipped 21.1% QoQ in the same quarter. The weaker foreign wholesale sales were mainly attributed to lockdowns in major economies.

All industries recorded lower foreign wholesale sales, except for the electronic components, telecommunications and computers and food, beverages and tobacco industries. The petroleum and petroleum products industry crashed 55.1% YoY as it continued to be adversely affected by sharp declines in global oil prices and weaker global demand for petroleum products.

Similarly, weaker performances were recorded by the transport equipment (-52.5%) and industrial and construction machinery (-16.5%) industries, due to weaker external demand. The ship handlers and bunkering, and chemicals and chemical products industries experienced declines of 38.2% and 19.9% respectively.

On the other hand, the electronic components and telecommunications and computers industries’ foreign sales rose 12% YoY and 6.9% YoY respectively, due partly to an uptick in demand for semiconductor components and integrated circuits and higher sales from new mobile phone launches.