Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
💎 Reveal Undervalued Stocks Hiding in Any Market Get Started
U.S. business inventories rise in November as sales fall
© Reuters. People shop in a grocery store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business inventories increased in November as higher interest rates depressed sales, boosting the inventory-to-sales ratio to the highest level in nearly two years.
Business inventories rose 0.4% after gaining 0.2% in October, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product.
November's increase in inventories was in line with economists' expectations. Inventories increased 15.1% on a year-on-year basis in November.
The pace of inventory accumulation has slowed considerably from the robust pace in late 2021 and early 2022 because of improved supply, and ebbing demand for goods as the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates to quell inflation.
Retail inventories rebounded 0.1% in November as estimated in an advance report published last month. They fell 0.4% in October. Improved supply as well as a shift in spending back to services have added to excess merchandise at retailers, forcing some to offer price discounts and hold back on placing more orders until they have cleared the unwanted stock.
Motor vehicle inventories accelerated 1.1%, instead of 1.2% as estimated last month. They increased 0.4% in October. Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, fell 0.3% as estimated last month.
Wholesale inventories increased 1.0% in November. Stocks at manufacturers were unchanged.
Inventories have been a drag on GDP for two straight quarters, subtracting more than one percentage point in the July-September quarter. The economy grew at a 3.2% annualized rate in the third quarter. Growth estimates for the fourth quarter are as high as a 4.1% pace.
Business sales fell 0.8% in November after rising 0.4% in October. At November's sales pace, it would take 1.35 months for businesses to clear shelves. That is the longest since December 2020 and was up from 1.33 months in October.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.