Recent Updates
- China: GDP (Q4)
- China: Bank Foreign Receipts and Payments (Dec)
- US: New Residential Construction, IP & Capacity Utilization (Dec), JOLTS (Nov), Consumer Sentiment (Prelim-Jan)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Industrial Production Lower on Utilities
Industrial production declined 0.3% in December on a weather-driven drop in utility output...
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Decline as Hiring Turns Tepid
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Decline as Hiring Turns Tepid...
U.S. Housing Affordability Edged Up in November
The NAR U.S. Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index edged up 0.3% m/m (13.9% y/y) to 163.8 in November ...
Euro Area Trade Surplus Shrinks
The EMU current account surplus fell to 33.94 billion euros in November...
Petroleum Drives Import Prices Higher, Uncommon Rounding Issue Causes Larger Decline in Export Prices
Import prices rose 0.3% in December as fuel prices jumped 2.8%...
by Gerald D. Cohen February 1, 2019
Wholesale inventories increased 0.3% month-on-month (6.5% year-over-year) during November, following an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in October. The release of this data was delayed by the government shutdown.
Wholesale sales declined 0.6% during November (+4.0% y/y), the second consecutive monthly decline of this magnitude. October's reading was revised down from -0.2%. The Action Economics Forecast Survey looked for just a 0.1% decrease.
The inventory-to-sales (I/S) ratio at the wholesale level rose to 1.29, the fourth consecutive monthly gain. Still, the I/S ratio remains well below the cycle peak of 1.38 reached in February 2016.
The wholesale trade figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations for sales are in the AS1REPNA database.
| Wholesale Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Nov Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventories | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 1.3 |
| Sales | -0.6 | -0.6 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 7.4 | -1.3 | -4.9 |
| I/S Ratio | 1.29 | 1.28 | 1.27 | 1.26 (Nov '17) | 1.30 | 1.35 | 1.33 |
