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Economy in Brief
Delay in Release
of Data for Construction, MSIO, Intl Trade, Wholesale Trade, Monthly Treasury, Retail Sales, Business Sales & Inventories, and Housing Starts Due to Lapse in Federal Government Funding.
U.K. Retail Sales Begin to Lose Momentum
U.K. retail sales fell by a sharp 1% in December...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Rebounds; Pricing Pressure Eases
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index increased to 17.0 during January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Slip
Initial claims for jobless insurance eased to 213,000 (-2.6% y/y) during the week ended January 12...
Passenger Car Registrations Hold to Low Ground in Europe
Passenger car registrations in Europe fell on a year-over-year comparison for the fourth consecutive months in December...
by Tom Moeller May 13, 2005
Total business inventories rose 0.4% in March and the y/y rate of inventory accumulation continued strong at 7.9%. The ratio of inventories-to-sales fell slightly, however, and returned to the record low average of last year.
Retail inventories rose 0.3% in March and also gained 0.3% excluding autos. Inventories of furniture & electronics increased 0.6% (6.2% y/y) following two months of decline and general merchandise doubled the prior month's increase with a 1.0% surge (6.6% y/y). Apparel inventories rose 0.5% (4.3% y/y).
Factory sector inventories grew 0.6% for the second month and the 8.9% increase versus last year remained the strongest since 1989.
Wholesale inventory accumulation moderated to 0.4%. During the last ten years there has been a 64% correlation between the y/y change in wholesale inventories and the change in imports of merchandise.
Overall business sales recovered 0.7% (6.7% y/y) after the 0.5% decline in February.
| Business Inventories | March | Feb | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.4% | 0.5% | 7.9% | 7.7% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| Retail | 0.3% | 0.4% | 4.8% | 5.7% | 3.9% | 5.9% |
| Retail excl. Autos | 0.3% | 0.5% | 6.5% | 5.9% | 2.0% | 2.3% |
| Wholesale | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10.8% | 10.8% | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| Manufacturing | 0.6% | 0.6% | 8.9% | 7.5% | -1.3% | -1.8% |
