New figures show that the volume of retail sales rose 5.9% compared with November 2005, but fell 1.6% in November compared to October 2006, when a big monthly increase had been recorded.
The Central Statistics Office says that, excluding motor trades, the annual rise was 6.8%, while there was a monthly decrease of 0.7%.
The figures show that the value of retail sales in November 2006 was up 6.4% on November 2005, but was 1.5% lower from October 2006. If motor trades are excluded, the annual increase was 7.6% and the monthly change was a fall of 0.6%.
A breakdown showed that the volume of motor trade sales dropped 3.9% in November from October, while pub sales slumped by 3.8%.
In the first eleven months of 2006, the total volume of retail sales was 6% higher on average than in the first eleven months of 2005, while the average increase for sales excluding motor trades was 6.9% over the same period.
Ulster Bank economist Pat McArdle said the monthly figures raised question marks over the accuracy of the whole report. He cited the 10% motor trade increase in October, followed by a 5% drop in November, saying they looked 'totally implausible'.
The economist said the figures for the 11 months to November as compared with the same period a year earlier gave a more stable picture, showing a strong 6.9% in core spending on day-to-day retail goods.
But Davy Stockbrokers pointed to the rise in interest rates as a factor, saying sales had weakened in each of the last three months that interest rates have been increased. Davy is expecting 7% growth in retail sales for the year as a whole.
