THE football World Cup has brought a strange hiatus to the used car trade between the brisk activity in the early part of the year and the expected traditional 'summer recess'.

Glass's Information Services says auction activity has died down in recent weeks but is expected to return to the seasonal norm after the competition.

Adrian Rushmore, managing editor of Glass's Information Services, said: 'Auction demand eased slightly in the second half of May and again in early June. This would have been consistent with the normal seasonal adjustment expected with the onset of summer, except we had the additional complications of the Jubilee and the World Cup.'

He said dealer activity concerning used car stock had been limited to replacement of recently sold stock, with some opportunist buying if cars were offered at attractively low prices.

'However,' Rushmore said, 'As June progressed and customers became more elusive, dealers curbed their spending still further. The preoccupation of the World Cup also had a disruptive influence, as retail interest was both subdued and erratic. But dealers were not dejected because, for the most part, it was expected.'