DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales fell by 2.9 percent month-on-month in August, retreating from a spike in sales in July when consumers had flocked to buy vehicles with updated registration plates, data on Monday showed.
Many consumers waited until July to buy cars so they get the "142" prefix on their registration plates for cars sold in the second half of 2014, leading to a 36 percent rise in car sales and an 8.2 percent monthly jump in the overall index that month.
Excluding car sales, August retail sales were 0.3 percent higher month-on-month.
The index was still up a strong 6.8 percent year-on-year at the end of August as Ireland's economy looks set to streak ahead of much of the euro zone this year after gross domestic product grew by almost 8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Heavens)