Irish retail sales volumes fell 1.6% month-on-month in July, dropping for the third successive month, and were 8.1% lower than the same period a year ago, Central Statistics Office data showed on Thursday.

Excluding car sales, which were 4.9% lower on the month and 16.2% year-on-year, retail sales fell by 3.5% compared with July 2021. Volumes were at the same level as February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the CSO said.

Despite inflation reaching almost 10% last month, the value of retail sales were 0.1% lower than in June and 0.4% lower on the year. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by John Stonestreet)