US: May 2017 sales of merchant wholesalers were $460.8 billion, down 0.5% from April level

"May 2017 sales of merchant wholesalers, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $460.8 billion, down 0.5 percent from the revised April level, but were up 6.2 percent from the May 2016 level," said the US Census Bureau on Tuesday.

Key highlights:

• The March 2017 to April 2017 percent change was revised from the preliminary estimate of down 0.4 percent to down 0.3 percent
• Total inventories of merchant wholesalers were $593.9 billion at the end of May, up 0.4 percent from the revised April level
• The May inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers was 1.29. The May 2016 ratio was 1.34