Retail sales volumes grew by 0.6% in the year to June, down from 0.9% the previous month, provisional figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.
Excluding the motor trade, retail sales volumes grew just 0.3% during the period, the CSO figures show.
The CSO said the fuel sector saw a monthly value decrease of 1.1% in June, but was up by 6% when compared with June of last year.
In volume terms, fuel fell by 0.4% in the month and by 3.6% in the year with the CSO saying the continued divergence of value and volume reflected the inflation currently being experienced in the sector.
Today’s figures show that the value of retail sales was 0.4% higher in June than in May and was up by 2.8% when compared with June of last year.
On a monthly basis, today’s CSO figures show the sectors with the largest monthly volume increases were electrical goods, with sales rising by 1.8%, while clothing, footwear and textiles rose by 1.5% and sales in both bars and sales of books, newspapers and stationery were up 1.2%.
The largest monthly volume decreases were recorded in furniture and lighting, which slowed by 1.8%, while sales of pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles were down 1.4%.
Meanwhile on an annual basis, the CSO said the highest annual volume growth was recorded in hardware, paints and glass, which jumped by 6.8%, while sales of books, newspapers and stationery rose by 3.8% and sales of pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles grew by 3.7%.
Sectors with the largest annual volume declines in June were furniture and lighting, with sales dropping 6.8% and fuel sales dropped 3.6%.
