Total daily debit and credit card spending declined 7.5% last week

Total daily debit and credit card spending declined 7.5 per cent last week compared to the previous week, representing the largest weekly decline since late December, new figures from the Central Bank show.

However, the latest data was impacted by St Patrick’s Day, when spending is generally lower.

Comparing the weeks on a like-for-like basis (by excluding Wednesday March 10th and 17th), total spending declined by a more moderate 3.4 per cent.

Despite being the only sector that increased in week-on-week terms on the bank holiday, the restaurant and dining sector remained flat for the week as a whole.

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Both the grocery and other retail sectors declined by 8 per cent during the the week, while the transport and accommodation sectors declined by 11 and 20 per cent respectively.

The Central Bank data captures expenditure of euro-denominated credit and debit cards issued to Irish residents. It consists of total daily debit and credit card spending and ATM withdrawals.