Value drop in pound boosts Irish sales

Almost all categories of retail sales are posting increases helped by the drop in the value of sterling against the euro which is pulling down the prices of many goods in Irish shops.

CSO figures showed by volume all but two categories of retail sales posted gains in April from a year earlier and also rose in the three months February to end of April.

In April, sales of furniture and lighting, which soared by almost 21% from a year earlier and sales at department stores, which climbed by 8.3%, showed the largest gains. Furniture and lighting and electrical goods were the top two performers in the three months to the end of April from the same period in 2016. Bar sales, which is a reliable indicator of consumer spending, were up 5.6% in the year in April and by 4.3% in the three month period from 2016.