December bar sales volumes level with 2013

Sales volumes in bars dropped 0.1% in December compared to the same period in 2013 according to provisional figures from the CSO.

December’s volumes were down by 1.0% compared to November 2014 while sales values were up 0.3% on the year and down by 0.8% on the previous month, November.

Final figures for November show bar sales volumes up 2.7% for the year and up by 1.3% on the October figure. Sales values showed a 3.1% increase for the year and a 1.1% increase over October.

Over the three-month period October to December bars showed a 1.2% rise in volume sales and a 2.2% rise in value sales. Compared to the previous July to September period, sales volumes were up 2.3% while values were up 1.7%.

Overall, retail sales volumes were up 0.5% in December 2014 compared to the previous month and by 5.1% compared to December 2013. There was a 1.0% increase in the value of retail sales in December 2014 compared to November and there was an annual increase in retail sales values of 2.3% when compared to December 2013.