Ireland's annual core inflation fell to 5% in July from 5.7% in June, while the headline rate dropped to 4.6% from 4.8%, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) showed on Friday.

Separate data showed Irish retail sales volumes rose 0.4% month on month in June to stand 7.6% higher on the year while an early estimate showed that gross domestic product (GDP) bounced back in the second quarter and was up 3.3% on the first quarter.

The government has long cautioned against using GDP to accurately measure economic growth as it is routinely inflated by multinational activity.

Its preferred measure, modified domestic demand, is not included in the Central Statistics Office's preliminary estimates. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely)