DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish retail sales rose 29.5% month on month in May, reflecting both the partial reopening of the economy and a record drop in April, but were still 26.6% lower than a year ago, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Monday.
Retail sales in April had tumbled 35.4% month on month and 43.3% year on year.
A reopening of the economy began in mid-May and a further easing in early June was followed by the reopening of most of the economy on Monday.
The rebound in May marked the largest monthly increase on record and was driven by a 153.9% jump in the motor trade, a 92.5% rise in hardware and an 85.9% improvement in furniture and lighting.
All three categories were still down year on year, led by drops of 74.6% and 51.3% in furniture and car sales, respectively.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely)
