Chart of the Day: Check out the surprise boost in F&B sales

It registered a 3.5% uptick in September.

The food & beverage industry surprisingly reverted its 2.7% contraction, ticking up 3.5% in September. According to the latest figures from Department of Statistics, the increase was led by sales from other eating places, which spiked 7.9% from a 1.5% growth in the preceding month.

Restaurant sales saw the biggest improvement, climbing to a 0.9% growth from a lacklustre 8.8% contraction in August while food outlets sales reflected a 2.6% growth.

Bucking the trend were sales from food cateres, which saw a 1.4% dip this month from a 0.3% growth in August. This contributed to a higher sales value at $687m, higher than the $664m recorded for thge same month last year.

The data was based on current prices from SingStat's Food & Beverage Service Index.