Courtesy of Mish.
The Census Bureau’s Advance Economic Indicators show a slight improvement in exports and rising retail and wholesale inventories.
Advance International Trade in Goods
The international trade deficit was $62.9 billion in August, down $0.9 billion from $63.9 billion in July. Exports of goods for August were $128.9 billion, $0.3 billion more than July exports. Imports of goods for August were $191.8 billion, $0.6 billion less than July imports.
Advance Wholesale Inventories
Wholesale inventories for August, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $608.4 billion, up 1.0 percent from July 2017, and were up 4.6 percent from August 2016. The June 2017 to July 2017 percentage change was unrevised at up 0.6 percent.
Advance Retail Inventories
Retail inventories for August, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $625.0 billion, up 0.7 percent from July 2017, and were up 3.7 percent from August 2016. The June 2017 to July 2017 percentage change was revised from down 0.1 percent to virtually unchanged.
Hurricane Impact?
