The U.S. Census Bureau released its wholesale trade data for the month of May. While the numbers were off expectations, it may not be by anywhere close enough to alter second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) targets. Because it covers the month of May, these figures did not include the woes of Greece and the market tank seen in Shanghai.
Wholesale inventories rose by 0.8% in May. Bloomberg had a consensus estimate of 0.3%, and Dow Jones had a consensus of 0.4%.
On sales, May’s wholesale trade was up 3% to $449.8 billion from the revised April data. Still, that is down 3.8% from the May 2014 level. April’s preliminary estimate was revised upward $0.2 billion.
Sales of furniture and home furnishings were down 2.8%, while motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 2.2%. Nondurable goods sales were up 0.7% from April, but were down 8.3% from last May. Sales of petroleum and petroleum products were up 4.3% from April.
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Inventories were also said to be up 0.8% at $581.9 billion at the end of May, as well as up by 5.0% from the May 2014 level. April’s preliminary estimate was revised upward by $0.1 billion. Inventory notes in the Census release were as follows:
- Inventories of computer and computer peripheral equipment and software were up 2.5%.
- Inventories of motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies were up 1.2%.
- Inventories of nondurable goods were up 1.2% from April and up 3.1% from last May.
- Inventories of petroleum and petroleum products were up 4.4%.
- And inventories of drugs and druggists’ sundries were up 2.7%.
The so-called inventories-to-sales ratio was 1.29 in May, up from 1.19 a year earlier.
With this being a May reading, it should have almost no impact on financial markets.
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