The Commerce
Department reported on Wednesday that its final estimates showed that the U.S.
wholesale inventories declined by
0.3 per cent m-o-m in May, matching the preliminary
estimate. That marked the first drop in inventories since December 2024 (-0.4 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had expected
the reading to be unrevised at -0.3
per cent m-o-m.
In April,
wholesale inventories inched
up 0.1 per cent m-o-m.
According to
the report, durable goods
inventories fell by 0.8 per cent m-o-m in May, reflecting decreases in 7 out of 9
durable industries, led by Miscellaneous Durable (-2.5 per cent m-o-m), Furniture
(-2.2 per cent m-o-m), and Professional equipment (-1.7 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile,
stocks of nondurable goods increased by 0.5 per cent m-o-m, underpinned by gains
in 6 out of 9 nondurable businesses, led by Petroleum (+1.5 per cent m-o-m), Drugs
(+1.8 per cent m-o-m), and Alcohol (+1.7 per cent m-o-m) businesses.
In y-o-y terms, wholesale inventories rose by 1.4
per cent in May.