SINGAPORE - Cars sales buoyed retail sector in Singapore once again, showing a 5 per cent rise in April 2015 compared to the previous year, a release by the Department of Statistics reported on Monday.

The sector was also boosted by good sales of telecommunication apparatus and department stores with a total sale value estimate at $3.3 billion, the release added.

Excluding car sales, however, retail sector decreased 0.7 per cent over the same period.

When compared with the previous month, retail sales rose 0.8 per cent in April, and remain unchanged without the inclusion of motor vehicles.

Food and beverage services also did brisk business, increasing 0.3 per cent in April 2015 compared to the same period last month, but decreased 1.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, the release stated.

The total sales value of food & beverage services in April 2015 was estimated at $615 million, lower than the $626 million in April 2014.