Retail sales growth slows to a three-year low

Consumer spending growth has eased to its slowest rate for nearly three years, CSO figures show, heightening fears the post-Brexit referendum fallout is biting deeper into the Irish economy.

The CSO yesterday issued provisional retail sales figures for September, showing a monthly fall in volumes of 0.2% and a year-on-year increase of 3.8%.

The latter figure, if upheld, would represent the lowest level of sales volume growth since November 2013. On a value basis, retail sales dipped by 0.4% in September on a monthly basis and were up by 1.9% year-on-year.