US inflation modest in 2017, despite rising retail sales

– Online shopping jumps –

In a separate report Friday, the Commerce Department said a holiday season jump in online shopping sent US retail sales higher in December.

Total retail sales rose to $495.4 billion in the final month of the year, a 0.4 percent increase compared to November.

Sales for all of last year rose 4.2 percent, the biggest increase since 2014, outpacing the 3.2 percent rise in 2016, according to the report.

The biggest gains came in the category known as “nonstore retailers” which rose 1.2 percent in the month and were up nearly 13 percent compared to the same month of last year.

Meanwhile, despite reports of healthy sales from some stores during the holiday shopping season, department store sales declined 1.1 percent from the prior month, while sporting goods stores fell 1.6 percent.

A closely-watched measure known as “core” sales — which excludes autos — increased 0.4 percent in the month, and posted a gain of 4.3 for the full year, which was the biggest increase since 2011.

Analysts note the upward revisions to November and October core sales make the report stronger than it initially appears, boosting economic growth estimates.

Analysts have forecast US fourth quarter growth at between 2.7 and 3.2 perce