The latest figures from Northern Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that the volume of retail sales fell by -6% in August compared with the same time last year which is the biggest fall since 1984.

The CSO said there was a monthly decrease of -2.7%. A breakdown showed there were sharp falls in areas linked to housing, with the hardware, paints and glass category falling more than -9% in the month and furniture and lighting sales down -2.5%. Motor sales dropped another -6.8% in the month, while bar sales were down -1.4%. However, sales at department stores rose by +14.7%. The value of retail sales, which takes prices into account, fell-3% in the month giving an annual drop of -3.4%.

Alan McQuaid, Bloxham economist, said the figures were ‘extremely disappointing’ and suggested that economic growth this year should be even lower than current forecasts. He said he expected real consumer spending to drop -1% this year after a +6.3% rise in 2007.