Irish retail sales declined in December, confirming a picture of an economy that is starting to slow, economists said today.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed the value of retail sales falling a seasonally adjusted 4.2 per cent in December from the month before.
Though the annual figure showed a sharp increase in retail sales of 10.2 per cent from December 1999, the rate of growth was the slowest since August last year, falling from a 16.2 per cent peak in September.
Economists said the drop in the value of sales in the latter part of the year was expected.
"It's hard to know whether it's people holding back or the impact of the U.S. (economic) slowdown," Mr Alan McQuaid at Bloxham stockbrokers told Reuters.
"The economy is going to slow, though even then I would expect growth to be well above the euro zone average," Mr McQuaid added.