SINGAPORE - Singapore's domestic wholesale trade expanded by 18.5 per cent in second quarter of 2017 compared to the same period a year ago, slowing from growth of 24.9 per cent in the first quarter.

Quarter-on-quarter, this trade grew by 1.3 per cent over the first three months of the year.

Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade rose by a smaller 4.8 per cent from a year ago, according to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics released on Friday (Aug 18). Quarter-on-quarter, it declined 3.5 per cent.

After adjusting for price changes, overall domestic wholesale trade rose 7.3 per cent from a year ago.

On a year-on-year basis, the ship chandlers & bunkering, petroleum & petroleum products and chemicals & chemical products industries expanded by 43.9 per cent, 37.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively in domestic sales on higher prices of petroleum and chemical products compared to the second quarter of 2016.

After removing the price effect, the ship chandlers & bunkering and petroleum & petroleum products industries registered smaller increases of 14.1per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively, while the domestic sales of the chemicals & chemical products industry dropped 10.3 per cent.

Similarly, the general wholesale trade (25.5 per cent), electronic components (10.7 per cent) and food, beverages & tobacco (0.1 per cent) industries recorded growths in domestic sales.

In contrast, the metals, timber & construction materials, telecommunications & computers, industrial & construction machinery, transport equipment and household equipment & furniture industries reported year-on-year sales decreases of between 0.1 per cent and 7.3 per cent.