First retail sales rise in two years

RETAIL sales rose for the first time in two years in February as car sales surged 30%.

Sales at department stores rose 6.3% from the previous month and increased almost 11% in the year.

Sales of electrical goods rose 3.3% in the month and 3.5% in the year. Car sales included, retail sales rose 3% from a year earlier, the first annual increase since January 2008, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Car sales surged 31% in the year. From the previous month.