WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. wholesale inventories increased more than initially estimated in June as businesses replenished stocks to meet robust consumer spending.
The Commerce Department said on Friday that wholesale inventories rose 1.1%, instead of 0.8% as estimated last month. Stocks at wholesalers advanced 1.3% in May. Wholesale inventories increased 10.5% in June from a year earlier.
Inventories are a key part of gross domestic product. The component of wholesale inventories that goes into the calculation of GDP increased 1.2% in June.
The government reported last week that consumer spending picked up in the second quarter, with outlays on goods rising solidly, even as demand rotates back to services because of COVID-19 vaccinations. The double-digit growth in consumer spending last quarter helped to lift the level of GDP above its peak in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Business inventories were depleted at a rapid clip in the second quarter. The goods trade deficit surged to a record high in June as imports rose to an all-time high, the government reported on Thursday.
Sales at wholesalers increased 2.0% in June after climbing 0.8% in May. At June’s sales pace it would take wholesalers 1.22 months to clear shelves, down from 1.23 in May.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
