Sharp rise in car sales boost January retail figures

Retail sales jumped 10.3 per cent in the year to January on the back of a sharp increase in the numbers of cars sold in Ireland.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that while sales volumes reached double figures, they were only up by 6.4 per cent if motor trade-related sales are excluded.

Sales were up 4.1 per cent in January versus the previous month but excluding car sales, were up by just 0.7 per cent.

During January, car sales jumped by 9.1 per cent while sales in the electrical goods and clothing, footwear and textiles segments rose by 6 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

The large monthly declines in sales last month were in the other retail category, where sales fell by 3 per cent, in furniture and lighting, down 1.8 per cent.

There was a 6 per cent rise in the value of retail sales in January versus December. On an annual basis, the value of sales jumped 8.9 per cent. However, if car sales are excluded, the value of retail sales was up by just 0.9 per cent on a monthly basis and by 4.5 per cent over the last 12 months.