Volume of retail sales falls by 1.6%

The volume of retail sales fell by 1.6% in June compared with the previous month, while there was a 1.5% decrease in the volume of sales over the past year.

Excluding motor sales, the volume decrease in June compared with May was 0.5%, although there was an annual increase of 1.1%.

The sectors with the largest increases over the month between May and June were books, newspapers and stationery, which saw a 3.6% increase; the pub trade had a 1.3% increase and electrical goods 1%.