SINGAPORE - Retail sales in Singapore went up by 5.4 per cent in August compared with the same time last year, driven largely by the sales of motor vehicles, said the Department of Statistics on Wednesday.

Car sales surged 49.5 per cent in August over the same month last year, as demand rose on the back of cheaper Certificates of Entitlement.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 1.6 per cent in August.

Sales of medical goods and toiletries; telecommunications apparatus and computers; food and beverages; and at petrol service stations also went up.

Other retailers fared less well - sellers of recreational goods, furniture and household equipment, and wearing apparel and footwear saw lower takings in the month over last year.