Stockpiles held by wholesalers rose in April, according to government statistics released on Tuesday. The increase was sharper than economists’ had predicted.
The U.S. Commerce Department revealed that wholesale inventories rose 0.4 percent in April compared to the previous month. The figure was up 4.5 percent compared to April 2014 levels.
Economists had expected the figure to rise by 0.2 percent.
Inventories of durable goods, such as autos and machinery, increased 0.1 percent, while inventories of nondurable goods rose 0.8% percent.
Wholesale sales climbed 1.6 percent compared to March levels, following a drop of 0.3 percent the previous month. It was the fastest rise in sales in thirteen months.
However, with sales declining sharply over the winter, April sales were down 3.3 percent from the same period last year.
The inventory to sales ratio for wholesalers came in at 1.29, down from 1.30 months in March.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com