DAVY VIEW

The news that core Irish retail sales rose by 1.4% in Q4 2022 shows that consumer spending was surprisingly resilient in the face of energy price hikes and elevated Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. The €1.4bn of Irish government income supports in Q4 (worth 4% of disposable incomes) no doubt helped, or it may be that households reduced their savings rate from 19% in Q3 to help sustain spending. The out-turn comes ahead of the flash estimate of Irish GDP growth in Q4, due to the published later this morning.