US retail sales rise but economic questions remain

After everything had been counted in the holiday shopping season it appeared that the US economy was on a comeback. Sales grew by over .6% in December making it one of the largest jumps since 1999. Also in this past year petrol went up 8.5% and core inflation was up only .1% in December. '

December was full of a mix of up and downs for the US economy. "December's gains were smaller than in the previous two months, as retailers began sales earlier and parts of the country were hit by bad weather which prevented shoppers visiting stores." While at the same time federal reserve production rose 0.8%, the biggest increase in five months.Us whole sale prices saw there biggest jump in a long time and over one million houses were repossessed in 2010.

Experts remained mixed on how positive the future is for the economy. Its a long road ahead. At years end the Dow Jones index showed little growth.

Nicole LeDonne

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12194727