Irish retail sales up 7 percent year-on-year in June

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales posted annual growth of 7 percent in June but were 3.4 percent lower month-on-month, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Friday.

Excluding volatile car sales, "core" retail sales volumes grew by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month to stand 4.6 percent higher on the year.

New car sales in Ireland have fallen over the last two years as some motorists have opted to import cars from Britain due to a fall in the value of sterling following the Brexit referendum. New car registrations were 4.9 percent lower in the year to end-June.

(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Padraic Halpin)