Official figures indicate that consumer spending is continuing to pick up, with another increase in the volume of retail sales in May.
The Central Statistics Office said sales volumes in May were up 3.5% from a year earlier, though the monthly increase was a modest 0.1%. Increases in sales so far this year have been led by the motor sector, but growth in this area was more subdued in May.
Sales excluding the motor sector, which are seen by many economists as a more important measure, were up 0.1% from May last year. In April, this figure showed its first annual increase since March 2008.
Economists have been watching this number more closely because a dramatic swing in car sales has been distorting the overall retail sales figures. Car sales suffered a collapse in the early months of last year, but have been boosted this year by the scrappage scheme.
A breakdown of sales volumes in April showed that motor sales rose 0.6% from April, after a jump of 5.9% in the previous month, and have risen almost 22% over the year. Sales of hardware, paints and glass dropped 6.3% in the month, while bar sales fell another 1.2% and were 13.25 lower over the year. But sales at department stores were up 1.2% from April.
The value of sales, with takes prices into account, gained 0.1% in the month but was down 0.1% over the year.
Bloxham economist Alan McQuaid descirbed the figures as 'quite positive', but pointed out that the annual increases were below those in the previous two months, suggesting that the recovery in spending was uneven.
