Irish retail sales recorded a modest rise in April but the underlying trend remains weak with little sign consumers are prepared to spend their way out of the current downturn.
Retail sales figures released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the volume of sales rose by 3.2 per cent in April 2003 compared to April 2002.
But on a three-month basis, which gives a more stable indication of recent underlying trends, February 2003 to April 2003 volume figures show a 1 per cent decrease compared with the three months ending January 2002.
Apart from the pre-euro spending spree of Christmas of 2001 the pace of growth in Irish consumer demand has been decelerating sharply for the best part of two years.
The annual rate of increase for 2002 as a whole was 2.6 per cent, well below the 7.4 per cent per annum average of the previous seven years, and the lowest annual rate recorded since the 1.8 per cent of 1991.