–May Wholesale Inventory/Sales Ratio Rises Off Record Low
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The value of wholesale inventories rose for the
fifth straight month in May, while wholesale sales posted their first
drop since March 2009, data released Friday morning by the Commerce
Department showed.
The 0.5% rise in wholesale inventories, which was led by another
solid gain in the value of durables stocks, was in contrast to the 0.4%
decline in factory inventories that was already announced. This leaves
the outlook for business inventories mixed pending the release of retail
inventories.
Wholesale sales fell 0.3% in May, the first decline since the 2.6%
drop in March 2009. Declines in a number of nondurables categories,
including petroleum, was the key factor.
As a result of the inventory rise and sales drop, the
inventory-to-sales ratio rose slightly to 1.14 in May after hitting a
record low 1.13 in April. The ratio was still well below the 1.34
reading a year ago, an indication that wholesalers are still cautiously
holding the line on stocks despite signs of sales improvement.
On a not-seasonally adjusted basis, wholesale inventories were down
2.1% from a year ago, while sales were up 15.1%.
Petroleum products inventories were down 6.0% seasonally adjusted
in May from April, following a solid monthly gain of 2.1% in April. At
the same time, petroleum sales fell only 0.3% in May, allowing the
petroleum inventory/sales ratio to fall to 0.46, the lowest since
November 2009.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
