U.S. Wholesale Sales Plummet 3 Percent in June

The United States Department of Commerce reported that wholesale sales plummeted by 3.0 percent in June, representing a sharp reversal from the 3.5 percent surge recorded in May. This decline was driven by a 5.1 percent drop in non-durable goods sales and a 0.8 percent decrease in durable goods sales.

During the same period, wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 percent, which was slightly below the 0.3 percent increase economists had anticipated. This followed a 0.3 percent rise in May. Within this category, durable goods inventories increased by 0.6 percent, while non-durable goods inventories saw a corresponding 0.6 percent decrease.

The combination of falling sales and rising stock levels pushed the inventories-to-sales ratio for merchant wholesalers to 1.19 in June, up from 1.15 in May.