The Commerce
Department announced on Wednesday its advance estimate revealed that the U.S.
wholesale inventories edged down 0.1 per cent m-o-m in January 2024, following
an unrevised 0.4 per cent m-o-m gain
in December 2023.
Economists had predicted a 0.1 per cent m-o-m uptick.
According to
the report, the January drop reflected a 0.9 per cent m-o-m decline in
nondurable goods inventories, which was partly offset by a 0.4 per cent m-o-m increase
in durable goods inventories.
In y-o-y terms,
wholesale inventories dropped 2.3 per cent in January, as a plunge in nondurable
goods (-8.5 per cent) more than offset a rise in durable goods (+1.7 per cent)
inventories.