SINGAPORE - Singapore's domestic wholesale trade expanded by 23.5 per cent in first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period a year ago, and by 1.6 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2016.

Excluding petroleum, this trade rose by a smaller 7.6 per cent from a year ago, according to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics released on Friday (May 19).

After adjusting for price changes though, overall domestic wholesale trade fell 5 per cent from a year ago.

On a year-on-year basis, there was significant growth in domestic sales in the ship chandlers & bunkering (82.8 per cent), petroleum & petroleum products (53.7 per cent) and chemicals & chemical products (41 per cent) industries in first quarter 2017, due primarily to increases in the prices of petroleum and chemical products.

After removing the price effect, the ship chandlers & bunkering and chemicals & chemical products industries recorded smaller increases of 9 per cent and 6 per cent respectively while the domestic sales of the petroleum & petroleum products industry fell 9.3 per cent.

Higher domestic sales were reported by the general wholesale trade (6.1 per cent), transport equipment (5.3 per cent), industrial & construction machinery (3.6 per cent), food, beverages & tobacco (2.9 per cent) and electronic components (0.9 per cent) industries in first quarter 2017.

In comparison, domestic sales of the telecommunications & computers, household equipment & furniture and metals, timber & construction materials industries contracted by 10.9 per cent, 5.9 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively during the same period.