US wholesale inventories in May revised lower

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. ‌wholesale inventories rose ​far ​less than initially thought in May, which could temper expectations that restocking would provide a significant lift to economic ‌growth in the second quarter.

Stocks at wholesalers edged up 0.1%, ⁠revised down from the 0.3% increase estimated last month, the Commerce Department's Census ‌Bureau said on Wednesday. Inventories, ‌a key part of gross domestic product, rose 0.7% in April. They advanced 4.0% on a year-over-year basis in May.

Business inventories have ​been drawn down for four straight quarters. Economists expect the rebuilding of inventories will blunt some of the anticipated drag on GDP ⁠from the trade gap. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's model is currently forecasting gross domestic product ​will increase at a 1.4% annualized rate in the second quarter. The economy grew at a 2.1% pace in ​the January-March quarter.

The government reported on ‌Tuesday a surge in imports to a 14-month high in May, widening the trade deficit. Economists partly attributed ⁠the rise in imports to front-loading by businesses eager to avoid higher prices and shortages stemming from the war in the Middle East.

Some of the imports ⁠ended up as inventory. Wholesale stocks of professional equipment increased 1.2% while computer ​equipment inventories surged 4.0%, a jump likely related to an artificial intelligence investment boom. Furniture inventories rose 0.5%, while those of hardware increased 0.6%. But metal inventories ‌dropped 2.8%. Petroleum stocks dropped 5.7%.

Sales at wholesalers increased 3.4% in May after advancing 2.2% in April. ‌At May's sales pace it would take 1.15 months to clear shelves, ⁠the shortest period since April ‌2012 and down from ​1.19 months in April. The inventories/sales ratio was at 1.31 months in May 2025.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by ‌Paul Simao)

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