Business Inventories Rise As Expected

Business inventories rose an as-expected 0.3 percent in April led by a 0.5 percent build at retailers and including respective gains of 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent for manufacturers and wholesalers. At a year-on-year build of 4.4 percent, total inventories look lean compared to underlying sales which are up 6.7 percent in a mismatch that points to restocking and with it a benefit to GDP not to mention gains for production and employment as well. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said yesterday that the economy is in "great shape" and inventories are part of the success story.