Irish Retail Sales Fall 0.1% In December

(RTTNews) - Ireland's retail sales decreased for the first time in nine months in December, though marginally, preliminary data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday.

The volume of retail sales dropped 0.1 percent year-on-year in December, reversing a 2.1 percent increase in the previous month.

Retail sales of food, beverages, and tobacco in specialized stores contracted 3.3 percent annually in December, and those of non-food products decreased 1.4 percent. Sales of automotive fuel dropped 0.3 percent, while motor trades advanced sharply by 7.8 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in December, in contrast to a 0.3 percent increase in November.

Data showed that the sales value grew 1.5 percent annually, while they declined by 0.2 percent monthly in December.