APRIL BUSINESS INVENTORIES UP 0.5%, SALES UP 1.4%
April Business Inventories rose 0.5%, more than the 0.3% expected and against an upwardly revised 0.2% increase in March. Sales rose 1.4% in April, the most since November and following a revised 1.2% gain the prior month.
The inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.25 from a downwardly revised 1.26 in March, previously reported as 1.27.
Retail inventories increased 0.4%, reversing the 0.6% decline posted in March and boosted by a 1.5% rise in furniture stocks, as well as food and beverage (up 0.8%), general merchandise (0.9%) and building materials and garden supplies (up 0.7%). Overall, retail inventories were up 2.5% from Apr-07.
Retailers saw sales edge up 0.3% — following a 0.5% rise prior – driven by a 2.7% increase in building and garden supplies, which outweighed a 2.1% drop in motor vehicle and parts sales.
Manufacturers’ sales jumped 2.2% in April after a 1.1% increase the prior month. Manufacturers’ inventories were flat following a 0.9% gain in March. On a y-o-y basis, manufacturers’ inventories were 6% higher.