Retail sales were flat in October ahead of the busy Christmas period, but were up nearly 6 per cent year on year.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate there was no change in the volume of retail sales last month, albeit they were up 5.8 per cent on last year.
If the volatile car sales are excluded, there was a decrease of 1.1 per cent in the volume of retail sales in October and up 4.2 per cent in annual terms.
The sectors with the largest monthly volume increases were pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles (+9.3 per cent ) and furniture and lighting (+2.8 per cent).
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The sectors with the largest month on month volume decreases were other retail sales (-19.8 per cent) and bars (-4.6 per cent).
