U.S. Business Inventories Rise 0.5 Pct in April

Inventories held by U.S. businesses on shelves and backlots rose by 0.5 percent in April, the best showing since inventories gained 1 percent in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The 0.5-percent rise in business inventories was more than double the 0.2 percent rise in March. Compared with the same month of last year, business inventories advanced by 5.4 percent in April.

Data released by the department showed that the April rise was led by a jump of 1.3 percent in stockpiles held by wholesalers, whose inventories edged up by only 0.1 percent in March.

Meanwhile, retailers saw their inventories climbed 0.4 percent in April after having fallen by 0.6 percent the previous month.

Manufacturers' inventories, however, were flat in April, following a solid 0.9-percent increase in March.

For April, U.S. business sales increased by 1.4 percent, up from a 1.2-percent rise the previous month.

The total business inventories-to-sales ratio at the end of April was 1.25, down slightly from 1.26 in March. The ratio is a measure of how long it would take to deplete stocks at the current sales pace.

Usually, rising business inventories are seen as a sign of confidence in future demand or as a result of an unexpected decline in sales.

Source: CRIEnglish