US August wholesale inventories revised lower
WASHINGTON: US wholesale inventories increased less than initially thought in August as strong demand boosted sales, government data showed on Thursday. Stocks at wholesalers rose by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Inventories, a key part of gross domestic product, were previously reported to have increased 0.7 percent in August. They surged 1.4…
US wholesale inventories were revised downward in August, according to government data released on Thursday. The Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported that stocks at wholesalers increased by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent, lower than the initially estimated 0.7 percent increase. This figure is even lower than the 1.4 percent surge in inventories in July.
Despite this downward adjustment, inventories still grew by 6.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in August. However, durable goods inventories at wholesalers rose by only 0.8 percent, while stocks of nondurable goods remained unchanged, with petroleum inventory decreasing by 3.9 percent. The wholesale inventories/sales ratio indicates that it would take 1.18 months to clear the shelves, a slight decrease from 1.19 months in July.
Economists estimate that trade could subtract as much as 2.5 percentage points from third-quarter GDP growth, but they expect a contribution from inventories after accounting for the 0.53 percentage point reduction in the second quarter. Currently, growth estimates for the third quarter stand at around a 3.0 percent annualized rate, attributed to robust consumer spending.
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