Consumer spending ended 2017 on a high note as Americans purchased an array of goods and products. The Commerce Department reported that Retail Sales rose 0.4% in December, in line with estimates, while November was revised higher to 0.9% from 0.8%. Sales rose 4.2% in 2017 compared to the 3.2% increase in 2016. For the 12-months ended in December, Retail Sales jumped 5.4%. Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

This morning, the highly anticipated Core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which strips out volatile food and energy, saw its largest increase in 11 months rising 0.3% compared to the 0.2% expected. Moreover, Core CPI year over year increased to 1.8% from the 1.7% registered in November. One number doesn't make a trend, but with expectations of inflation rising in advance of this number, the "street" took this hot reading as an opportunity to sell and ask questions later.