New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows sales volumes in retail rose by just 0.3% in September, but were up 8.6% compared to the same period last year.

Excluding car sales, retail sales were up 0.7% versus August and up 8% on an annual basis.

The latest figures show a 0.1% decline in the value of retail sales from August. However, when compared to September 2014, there was a 4.9% rise in value of sales.

The sectors with the largest month-on-month volume decreases were furniture and lighting (down 2.6%), food, beverages and tobacco (down 2.2%) and bars (down 2.6%).

The ‘other retail sales’ category rose 1.9% versus August, while ‘non-specialised stores’ volumes gained 1.2% and fuel rose by 0.6%.

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