Retail sales in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea lifted by single digits, respectively, for the month of December, as consumers in each Asian market spent more during the holiday period.
SEE ALSO: China retail sales in December dip 1.8 percent
Hong Kong’s December retail sales rose 1.1 percent from a year earlier as economic sentiment improved alongside with further relaxation of social distancing measures, government data showed
Sales increased to HKD 33.7 billion (USD 4.3 billion), compared with a revised 4.1 percent decline in November.
In volume terms, retail sales decreased 0.7 percent year-on-year in December, compared with a revised 5.3 percent decrease in November.
In Singapore, retail sales rose 7.4 percent year-on-year, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics, for a total retail sales value in December for SGD 4.7 billion (USD 3.55 billion)
The lifted surpassed the revised 6.5 percent rise in November. The increase comes amid the year-end festive season, a period marked by shopping sprees but also a popular time for Singaporeans to holiday abroad, which they could do much more easily in 2022.
Likewise, South Korean retail sales were up a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent on month in December, Statistics Korea said on Tuesday.
That beat expectations for an increase of 1.2 percent following the upwardly revised 1.7 percent decline in November.
The retail upticks are a stark contrast to a 1.8 percent sales dip in mainland China in December, as a stringent zero-Covid policy restricted travel and business activity across the country.