May Business Inventories Preview
May business inventories are expected to gain 0.5% following a 0.5% increase in April. Shipments are also expected to increase 0.5% following a 1.6% increase the month prior. The inventory-to-sales ratio is expected to fall to 1.24 in May from 1.25 in April. Y-o-Y inventories are expected at 5.6% in May while y-o-y shipments are expected at 6.7%.
Retail inventories, expected to increase 0.2%, will be the only new data provided in the release. Retail shipment grew 1% in May thanks to the boost in disposable income as a result of government stimulus checks.
The May factory goods report revealed a0.1% increase in shipments and a 0.5% increase in factory inventories. The May wholesale trade report revealed a 1.6% increase in shipments and a 0.8% increase in wholesale inventories.
The May ISM Manufacturing report showed a marginal decline in business inventories from 48.1 to 48 and the shipments index grew to 51.2 from 48. The May Empire state index revealed a considerable deterioration in shipments from 17.49 to 4.55. The May Chicago PMI inventories index declined from 51.9 to 42.2 and the shipments index fell to 51.5 from 53.