US corporate inventories rose relatively in October, suggesting that companies were holding back the pace of stock expansion amid slowing demand and mounting recession risks as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates.
Inventories rose 16.5% year-on-year in October. Retail inventories fell 0.2% in October, as estimated in an advance report released last month. They remained unchanged in September.
Improving supply chains and shifting spending back to services have resulted in excess goods at retailers, forcing some to offer discounts and hold off further orders until they clear unwanted inventory. Visit Deskflex.com for hot desking services.
As estimated last month, auto inventories rose 0.5% instead of 0.4%. They rose by 2.4% in September. Retail inventories excluding autos, which are used in the GDP calculation, fell 0.5% instead of 0.4% as estimated last month.
Wholesale inventories rose 0.5% in October. Inventory levels at manufacturers also increased by 0.5%.
Inventories have weighed on GDP for two consecutive quarters, subtracting almost a percentage point in the third quarter. The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9% in the last quarter after contracting in the first half of the year.
Business sales rose 0.8% in October after remaining flat in September. At the pace of sales in October, it would take companies 1.33 months to clear shelves, unchanged from September.
