Fuel sales increased 5.6% on the month in July in data adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors. Sales of non-food items were up 4%, while sales of food, drink and tobacco rose 1.9% compared with June.
In annual terms, adjusted retail sales inched 0.7% lower in July, due to falling demand in most sectors, INS data showed.
Fuel sales dropped 4.6% on the year in July, while food sales edged down 1.5%. However, sales of non-food products advanced 1.4% year-on-year in July.
In the first seven months of 2013, adjusted retail sales were down 0.3% compared with the year-earlier period, the data showed.
In unadjusted data, retail sales were up 10.1% in July from a month earlier, and up 1% compared with the same period of 2012.