The Commerce
Department reported on Wednesday its final estimates revealed that the U.S.
wholesale inventories jumped 0.4 per cent m-o-m in December 2023, matching the preliminary estimate. This
was the first monthly increase in
wholesale inventories since November 2022 (+0.6 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had anticipated
the reading to stay unrevised at +0.4 per cent m-o-m.
In November,
wholesale inventories dropped 0.4 per
cent m-o-m.
According to
the report, durable goods
inventories climbed 0.6 per cent m-o-m in December, reflecting gains in 6 out of 9
durable industries, led by Automotive (+2.9 per cent m-o-m), Professional Equipment
(+1.6 per cent m-o-m), and Machinery (+1.3 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile,
stocks of nondurable goods slipped by 0.1 per cent m-o-m, as declines in Petroleum (-6.7 per cent m-o-m), Farm
products (-4.4 per cent m-o-m), Apparel (-1.4 per cent m-o-m) and Chemicals (-0.3
per cent m-o-m) more than offset advances in the remaining 5 nondurable
businesses.
In y-o-y terms, wholesale inventories fell 2.7
per cent in December.