United States: the volume of inventories continued to rise in May

The US Commerce Department said that inventories increased again by the end of May, slightly speeding up the pace compared to April and exceeding the average forecast. Meanwhile, analysts believe that investment in inventories again will put pressure on economic growth in the second quarter.

According to the data, the volume of inventories increased in May by 0.2 percent after rising 0.1 percent in April, which has not been revised. Economists had expected the reserves, a key component of gross domestic product to rise by 0.1 percent.

Retail stocks except for the cars that go into the calculation of GDP, increased by 0.4 percent after falling 0.2 percent in April. However, the latter growth is likely to reflect the higher price. Against this background, analysts say it is unlikely that May data change will be an incentive for GDP growth adjusted for inflation.

Inventories icontributed to the growth of GDP in the first quarter of 2015 and were the reason for slowing down in each of the last three quarters. Companies have accumulated a record amount of reserves in the first half of 2015, which is ahead of demand. Although the pace of accumulation slowed down, the volume of inventories remained high in the second half of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.

Also, the Ministry of Commerce reported that the volume of manufacturing sales rose 0.2 percent in May after rising 0.8 percent in April. The ratio of inventories to sales was 1.40 months in May, unchanged compared to April. This is a relatively high ratio and implies that the companies will continue to place fewer orders for the goods.