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[Bullwinkle]

U.S. wholesale inventories up 1% in December
Thursday, February 9, 2006 4:12:11 PM
FXstreet.com


FXstreet.com – (Barcelona) Great surprise today in the wholesale inventories announcement due to the unexpected 1% grew in Dec, “led by growing stockpiles of autos and drugs,” said the U.S. Commerce Department.

Drugs and farm products wholesalers increased inventories by 3.9 and 5.6 percent, respectively; while Auto inventories increased 1.2%. Petroleum and apparel products experienced inventory draws of 1.5 and 1.3 percent. Durable goods inventories built 0.6 percent, with lumber and hardware growing 4.0 and 2.5 percent, respectively. Finally, nondurables inventories grew 1.6 percent, the biggest monthly percentage increase since a matching boost in April 2001.

The inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at 1.15, still at a historically low level. The economists expect inventories to build throughout 2006. “Next week's business inventories number will shed further light on any potential revision to inventories contribution to fourth quarter GDP,” predicted Wachovia Corporation Research Team.

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/noticia.asp?pv_noticia=FXstreetNews2006291211