DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales surged 8 percent from June to July as consumers flocked to buy cars with updated registration plates, data released on Thursday 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.
When car sales, which were up 36 percent, are excluded, the volume of retail sales declined by 0.7 percent on the month and were up 3.1 percent compared to a year ago, the lowest increase since March, the Central Statistics Office said.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Toby Chopra)