Ireland achieved the sharpest advance as European retail sales climbed in October, led by home appliances, according to figures released yesterday by Eurostat, the EU statistics office.

The agency also corrected November industrial production prices to a lower estimate.

October retail sales rose 1 per cent in the 12-state euro zone and 1.7 per cent in the 15-state EU on a 12-month basis, Eurostat said. Sales in the euro zone were off 0.2 per cent from September and slipped 0.1 per cent in the EU.

However, annual growth in retail sales slowed in all sectors. Household appliances were the best performers in the month, racking up a 3 per cent gain in the euro zone and 4.1 per cent in the EU. The food, beverages and tobacco sector advanced 1.2 per cent in both the single-currency zone and the wider EU.

Ireland posted the sharpest advance, up 9.6 per cent, followed by Belgium at 7.1 per cent and Sweden at 5.1 per cent. Germany, the largest EU economy, suffered the steepest decline, at 1.4 per cent. Euro-zone industrial production prices in November climbed 0.2 per cent from the figure for October.