Irish retail sales fall in February but rise on-year - flash estimate

(Alliance News) - Ireland's retail sales volume decreased on-month in February but rose on an annual basis, according to preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The volume of retail sales fell 0.8% in February from January, on a seasonally adjusted basis, and increased 0.8% compared with February last year.

In contrast, flash data for January showed that the retail sales volume increased 1.5% on a monthly basis, and by 3.0% annually.

Excluding motor trades, February's sales volume rose 0.3% on-month and 0.2% on-year.

The value of retail sales for February, meanwhile, declined 0.6% on-month but rose 2.1% annually.

The Motor Trades sector showed the third-highest monthly volume decrease at 1.4%. It was beaten by Clothing, Footwear & Textiles, where sales fell 4.4%, and by Hardware, Paints & Glass, where they fell 3.6%.

The largest monthly volume increase was 6.4% from Pharmaceuticals, Medical & Cosmetic Articles, followed by a 1.1% rise from Department Stores and 1.0% for Books, Newspapers & Stationery.

The Books, Newspapers & Stationery sector delivered the highest annual volume growth with a 5.2% increase. Furniture & Lighting showed the largest annual decline, at 3.3%.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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