–Retail Inventories Ex Auto Also Up 0.2%; Most Categories Up
–Business Sales Rise 0.7% In Dec, Inventory/Sales Ratio 1.26, 9-mo Low

By Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of business inventories rose 0.4% in
December, with retail inventories up 0.2% to add to inventory gains in
the already announced manufacturing and wholesale sectors, data released
Tuesday morning by the Commerce Department showed.

Analysts in a Market News International survey had expected
business inventories to rise 0.5%.

Retail motor vehicle inventories rose only 0.1% in December as
motor vehicle sales rose 2.5% that month following a 0.7% rise in the
previous month.

The remaining retail inventories categories combined for a 0.2%
increase as sales plunged excluding motor vehicles in December. There
were increases in every retail inventory category except for a 0.5%
decline in inventories of building materials and garden supplies, which
were cut by a 2.0% jump in sales that month.

A Market News International calculation of retail inventories not
included in the published categories shows a flat reading after a 0.8%
rise in the previous month.

Factory inventories were already reported up 0.1% in the month,
while wholesale inventories jumped 1.0%. Overall business inventories
would still have been up 0.4% in December if the very small rise in
retail motor vehicle inventories was excluded, a Market News
International calculation showed.

Meanwhile, business sales rose 0.7% in December, with retail sales
excluding food services flat in the month. Wholesale sales were already
reported as up 1.3%, while manufacturing shipments, which are equal to
sales in this report, rose 0.7%.

Business sales were up sharply from a year ago, running 7.2% ahead
of their December 2010 level before seasonal adjustment and 8.9% after
seasonal adjustment.

At the same time, December business inventories were 7.6% above
their year-ago levels before seasonal adjustment and up 7.7% after
seasonal adjustment.

In December, the inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.26 from 1.27 in
November, hitting the lowest level since 1.25 in March 2011. The
December ratio was also down from 1.28 in December 2010. Before seasonal
adjustment, the ratio was 1.21 in December, down sharply from 1.31 in
November, but unchanged from 1.21 in December 2010.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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