Retail sales rebound in August – CSO
Retail sales increased 2.1% in August on an annual basis, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.
On a monthly basis, the CSO said that retail sales jumped by 5.7% in August compared to July.
Excluding the motor trade, which has been very volatile in recent years, retail sales grew by 1.1% in August and 4.4% when compared with the same time last year, today’s figures show.
In July, retail sales had posted their sharpest annual fall since 2012 on weak car sales.
Today’s CSO figures show that the sectors with the largest monthly increases were the motor trade, with sales there jumping 12% higher, while bars sales rose by 10.6%.
The sectors with the largest monthly decreases were fuel with sales down 4.4%, while sales of pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles slowed by 3.3%.
Meanwhile the CSO figures also show an increase of 5.8% in the value of retail sales in August on a monthly basis, while there was an annual increase of 0.9%.
