Irish retail sales growth eased in June from the preceding month, provisional estimates from the Central Statistics Office showed on Friday.

Retail sales volume rose 1% year-on-year in June, slower than a 3.1% growth in the previous month. However, sales increased for the fifth successive month. A year ago, retail sales slipped 9.6%.

Sales in motor trade rose 13.9% in June from the previous year and non specialized stores grew 1.4%. Sales for clothing, footwear and textiles climbed 2.6%.

On a monthly basis, retail sales volume dropped 0.2% in June, following a 0.1% fall in May. Retail sales decreased for the second consecutive month.

Excluding motor trades, retail sales declined 1.3% on an annual basis in June, compared to a flat reading in the previous month. Sales slipped 0.5% compared to the preceding month.

Meanwhile, overall retail sales value dropped 2.8% annually in June, compared to a 0.3% fall in May. Retail sales value dropped for the second straight month. Month-on-month, the value of retail sales fell 0.7%, after rising 0.3% in May. Retail sales value, excluding motor trades fell 4.8% annually and was down 1.1% compared to the prior month.

The Irish economy is expected to grow 0.8% this year following a 7.6% contraction in 2009. Next year, economic growth would accelerate to 2.8%, the central bank said in its quarterly bulletin today. Irish economy had exited from its worst recession in the first quarter. The gross domestic product increased to 2.7% sequentially from 2.7% decline in the fourth quarter of 2009.

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