September bar sales down 2.2%

Sales volumes in bars declined by 2.3% in September compared to those in August according to provisional CSO figures which indicate a 2.2% annual decrease in bar sales for September.

Bar sales values showed a monthly decrease of 2.4% although they were up 0.3% on an annual basis.

Retail sales volumes generally rose 0.1% in September compared to August and by 5.9% on an annual basis.

Final figures for August indicate that bar sales volumes were up 3.0% on July and 1.6% on August 2013. Bar sales values showed an increase of 3.5% on July and an increase of 4.3% on August 2013.

Over the three months July to September bar sales volumes were up 1.2% on the April to June period and down 1.4% on the July to September 2013 period.

Bar values were up 1.8% on the previous three-month period and they were up 1.1% on an annual basis.