Retail sales rebound with 6.3% rise in June

Retail sales bounced back in June after weak levels of spending in May as a healthy year for consumer spending got back on track.

The volume of retail sales was up 6.3 per cent in June compared to the same month in 2005, according to provisional figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). There was a 2.3 per cent rise in spending month-on-month, the fastest month-on-month growth rate since January. Excluding motor trades, retail sales grew by an annual rate of 6.5 per cent in June.

Over the three-month period until the end of May, the largest increase in the volume of sales occurred in department stores, where volumes were up 7.6 per cent compared to the three months to the end of February.

The largest decrease was in the motor trade, where sales volumes fell 3.5 per cent compared with the previous three-month period. In June annual sales growth in the motor trade slipped for the fourth month in succession.

Rossa White, economist at Davy Stockbrokers, said a slower growth rate in Ireland's retail sales in the second quarter of the year could be attributed to weaker car sales. Energy costs and higher rates on car loans may have deterred some consumers from buying cars, he said.

NCB economist Dermot O'Leary said there was no evidence of the anticipated surge in car sales as a result of maturing Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs).

Mr O'Leary said the hardware, paints and glass category had enjoyed a particularly good summer, with sales reaching a four-month high of 9.9 per cent annual growth in June.

Textiles and clothing grew at an annual rate of 10.3 per cent in June, according to the initial estimates. This was the fastest rate of growth in five months.