{"id":128395,"date":"2022-07-19T13:43:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T13:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=128395"},"modified":"2022-07-19T13:43:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T13:43:25","slug":"u-s-business-inventories-jump-more-than-expected-in-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/economy\/u-s-business-inventories-jump-more-than-expected-in-may\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Business Inventories Jump More Than Expected In May"},"content":{"rendered":"
Business inventories in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.<\/p>\n
The report showed business<\/span> inventories shot up by 1.4 percent in May after surging by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in April.<\/p>\n Economists had expected business inventories to jump by 1.2 percent, matching the advance originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n Wholesale inventories spiked by 1.8 percent during the month, while manufacturing and retail inventories shot up by 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n “Businesses face an arduous task as they manage their inventories in a difficult economic environment of cooling goods demand, persistent supply chain constraints, elevated inflation and higher interest rates,” said Oren Klachkin, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.<\/p>\n “We expect inventories to continue marching higher, though the pace of gains will slow,” he added. “The economy<\/span> is not in a recession currently but aggressive and front-loaded Fed rate hikes increase the chances of a hard landing, especially for 2023.”<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales climbed by 0.7 percent in May after rising by 0.6 percent in April.<\/p>\n Manufacturing sales led the way higher, surging by 1.8 percent. Wholesale sales also rose by 0.5 percent, while retail sales fell by 0.3 percent.<\/p>\n With inventories increasing by more than sales, the total business inventories\/sales ratio crept up to 1.30 in May from 1.29 in April. <\/p>\n