Irish retail sales fell by 0.8% month-on-month in July, the third straight monthly drop, but were still 5.9% higher than a year ago, Central Statistics Office data showed on Monday.

Excluding car sales, retail sales volumes were 4% lower on the month and just 0.3% higher year-on-year.

The largest monthly falls were in bars (-5.5%), food and beverages (-4.3%), supermarkets and other non-specialised stores (-3.5%) and hardware (-3.5%). (Reporting by Padraic Halpin, Editing by Louise Heavens)