US: Inventories of wholesalers were $602.4 billion at the end of July, up 0.6% from June

"Total inventories of merchant wholesalers, after adjustment for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were $602.4 billion at the end of July, up 0.6 percent from the revised June level," the US Census Bureau reported on Friday.

Key highlights:

• Total inventories were up 3.3 percent from the revised July 2016 level.
• The June 2017 to July 2017 percent change was revised from the advance estimate of up 0.4 percent to up 0.6 percent.
• July 2017 sales of merchant wholesalers were $465.1 billion, down 0.1 percent from the revised June level, but were up 5.9 percent from the July 2016 level.
• The May 2017 to June 2017 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.7 percent to up 0.6 percent. 
• The July inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers, based on seasonally adjusted data, was 1.30. The July 2016 ratio was 1.33.