Business remained strong in June, with retail sales provisionally estimated at $15.6 billion - up 14.5% on last year. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the overall volume of retail sales rose 11.3%.

This is the third consecutive month retail sales saw double-digit year-on-year volume growth, reflecting a sustained revival in local consumer demand and buoyant inbound tourism.

The remarkable performance in June remained broad-based, with sales of motor vehicles, electrical goods and photographic equipment, jewellery and watches, all registering sharp growth in excess of 20%. Sales of commodities in supermarkets stopped falling.

The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in May was $16.5 billion, up 19.5% in value or 15.7% in volume on last year.

For the first half of 2004, retail sales rose 13.4% in value or 11.2% in volume, compared to last year.

Analysed by type of retail outlet and comparing June with a year earlier, sales of almost all major types of retail outlet rose, with sales of motor vehicles and parts increasing the most, by 44.8% in volume.

This was followed by jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (by 30.4% in volume), electrical goods and photographic equipment (24.1%), wearing apparel (8.5%), miscellaneous consumer goods (8.4%), commodities in department stores (5.4%), commodities in supermarkets (5.1%), footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (4.7%), miscellaneous consumer durable goods (4.2%), furniture and fixtures (2.4%), and fuels (0.5%).

Sales of food, alcohol and tobacco remained virtually unchanged.