New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales rose by 6.7% in April 2006 compared to the same time last year. The CSO adds that there was a monthly increase of 0.7%.
If motor trades are excluded, the annual increase is 8.8% and the monthly change is an increase of 2.7%.
The CSO also said that the value of retail sales increased by 8.8% in April compared to the same time last year and were up 0.9% on the month. If motor trades are excluded, the annual increase was 9.9% and the monthly change was also 2.7%.
In the three months from January to March, the CSO said that the largest increase in the volume of sales was in the electrical goods sector, which saw an increase of 8.6%. The largest decrease was in the books, newspapers and stationery sector, which saw a 1% fall in the volume of retail sales.
