SINGAPORE - Singapore's domestic wholesale trade fell 25.8 per cent in the first three months of 2015, compared to the year-ago quarter, on lower prices of petroleum and chemical products, the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) announced on Wednesday.

Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade declined 12.6 per cent year-on-year.

However, after adjusting for price changes, overall domestic wholesale trade rose 5.4 per cent year-on-year.

Wholesale trade is one of the largest sectors in Singapore's economy, providing a significant number of jobs.

Lower prices of petroleum and chemical products also affected foreign wholesale trade, which fell 18.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter.

Excluding petroleum, foreign wholesale trade fell 5.6 per cent, but after adjusting for price changes, overall foreign wholesale trade grew by 7.4 per cent year-on-year.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, domestic wholesale trade fell 16.4 per cent in Q1. Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade declined 5.2 per cent, and after removing the price effect, it decreased marginally by 0.4 per cent over the previous quarter.

Foreign wholesale trade fell 11.9 per cent from the previous quarter. Excluding petroleum, it declined 5.8 per cent and, after removing the price effect, it increased 2.3 per cent.