With an increase in inventories of durable goods offset by a drop in inventories of non-durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that total inventories of merchant wholesalers were flat in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories were virtually unchanged in July after rising by 0.3 percent in June. Inventories had been expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent in July after dipping by 0.2 percent in June, with the rebound reflecting a jump in inventories of professional and commercial equipment and supplies.
On the other hand, the report said inventories of non-durable goods fell by 0.3 percent in July following a 1.0 percent jump in the previous month.
A steep drop in inventories of farm product raw materials was partly offset by a notable increase in inventories of chemicals and allied products.
The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales dropped by 0.4 percent in July after surging up by 1.7 percent in June.
Sales of non-durable goods slumped by 1.0 percent in July following a 2.2 percent jump in June due to steep drops in sales of petroleum and petroleum products and beer, wine, and distilled alcoholic beverages.
Meanwhile, the report said sales of durable goods edged up by 0.2 percent in July after shooting up by 1.2 percent in the previous month.
Reflecting the decrease in sales, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers inched up to 1.34 in July from 1.33 in June. The ratio came in at 1.32 in the same month a year ago.
by RTT Staff Writer
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