The retail sales in Singapore rose by 1.6 percent in October 2006 over a year ago, according to the figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics ( SDS) on Friday.

Sectors of wearing apparel and footwear, supermarkets, food and beverages, telecommunications apparatus and computers recorded higher sales of 6.9 percent to 9.6 percent in October this year compared to the same period last year.

Conversely, sales of recreational goods and optical goods and books declined by 5.6 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. Petrol sales also dropped by 4.8 percent, largely attributable to lower prices.

At constant prices, overall retail sales in October 2006 went up by 4.6 percent over a year ago.

The total retail sales value stood at an estimated 2.46 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.60 billion U.S. dollars) in the tenth month of this year.

The catering trade increased by 10.3 percent in October over a year ago, while at constant prices, the index was up by 8.5 percent.

The total value of catering trade was estimated at 329.6 million Singapore dollars (about 214.0 million U.S. dollars).