SINGAPORE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales fell 0.4 percent year-on-year in January, reversing December's 2.5 percent growth, official data showed Thursday.

The decline was partly attributed to the Chinese New Year falling in February this year rather than January last year, the Singapore Department of Statistics said.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales rose 6.1 percent in January from December. Total sales were estimated at 4.6 billion Singapore dollars (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars), with online transactions accounting for 14.4 percent.

Sales in the food and beverage services sector dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier, following a 0.3 percent decline in December. Total revenue in the sector was estimated at 1.6 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars), with online sales making up 22.1 percent. ■