US: wholesale inventories show the eighth consective drop
US wholesale inventories dropped by 1.4% M/M in April, the eight consecutive monthly decline and more than the expected -1.2% M/M. The previous figure was downwardly revised from -1.6% M/M to -1.8% M/M. Sales dropped by 0.4% M/M to the lowest level since 2005. The decline in both inventories and sales led to a marginal drop in the inventory/sales ratio from 1.32 in March to 1.31 in April.
EMU: German IP extends downtrend in April
In April, German industrial production dropped by 1.9% M/M, while the consensus was looking for a slight increase. The March figure was upwardly revised from 0.0% M/M to 0.3% M/M. The details show that weakness was concentrated in manufacturing & mining (-2.9% M/M) with a sharp decline in capital goods (-6.4% M/M). Energy rose by 5.8% M/M and construction increased by 0.5% M/M. This outcome is a bit disappointing after the improvement in March, which raised expectations that the worst for the German industrial sector was over.
