Retail sales in July rise by 0.7%

The volume of retail sales increased by 0.7% between June and July, driven mainly by sales of clothing, hardware, and fuels.

Despite the increase the CSO figures show a fall of 1.6% in the value of sales in Jul 2012 compared with the same period last year.

It is the second month in a row that the value of retail sales declined by more than 1% year-on-year. In June the total volume of retail sales was down by 1.3% over the year.