US wholesale inventories unrevised in March

US WHOLESALE inventories increased solidly in March, though the pace slowed from the prior month amid rising sales, government data showed on Monday (May 9).

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose 2.3 per cent in March as reported last month. Stocks at wholesalers climbed 2.8 per cent in February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected inventories would be unrevised.

Wholesale inventories advanced 22.0 per cent in March on a year-on-year basis. Inventories are a key part of gross domestic product. Wholesale motor vehicle inventories accelerated 2.4 per cent after rebounding 1.9 per cent in February.

Wholesale inventories, excluding autos, rose 2.3 per cent in March. This component goes into the calculation of GDP.

Inventory investment slowed in the first quarter from the October-December period's robust pace. That, together with a record trade deficit, weighed on gross domestic product, resulting in the economy contracting at a 1.4 per cent annualized rate in the first quarter.

Sales at wholesalers increased 1.7 per cent in March after gaining 1.5 per cent in February. At March's sales pace it would take wholesalers 1.22 months to clear shelves, unchanged from February. REUTERS