U.S. retail sales beat market expectation in January

U.S. retail sales rose higher than expected in January, echoing an improving economic outlook in the first quarter of 2017, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Retail sales edged up 0.4 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 472.1 billion U.S. dollars in January, much higher than economists' expectation of 0.2 percent, the Commerce Department said.

Compared with a year earlier, total retail sales rose 5.6 percent last month.

Purchases of motor vehicle and parts sank 1.4 percent in January, while sales in department stores and at bars and restaurants rose 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent separately in the same month.

Excluding the volatile auto sales, total retail sales rose 0.8 percent last month, the Commerce Department said.

As consumer spending was a major driver of U.S. economic growth, the higher-than-expected retail sales report in January suggested an acceleration of the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2017.

U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the economy has continued to make progress toward the maximum employment and price stability objectives.

She said that gradual increases in the interest rates will be appropriate by assessing the current economic conditions, and emphasized that waiting too long could force the central bank to raise rates more rapidly, which could risk disrupting financial markets and pushing the economy into recession. Endi