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Inventories shrink in April
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June 9, 1998: 10:41 a.m. ET
Wholesale inventories fall 0.6 percent but sales are only marginally higher
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. wholesale inventories shrank 0.6 percent in April as overall sales improved slightly, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday.
Adjusted for seasonal variation, April inventories sank to $275.8 billion, down from the revised March figure of $277.6 billion but 6.3 percent higher than April 1997.
Wholesale sales rose to a seasonally adjusted $214.0 billion, up 0.1 percent from the revised March figure but up 3.1 percent from the applicable period a year ago.
The April inventories/sales ratio eased to 1.29 from 1.30 in March.
The bond market took the news in stride as movements in the dollar occupied the bulk of traders' attention. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond remained 8/32 lower after the release to yield 5.80 percent.
By sector, the decline in inventories from March was led by a 8.2 percent decrease in farm products and a 4.7 percent decrease in motor vehicles and automotive equipment. Liquor store shelves cleared out as well, with inventories of alcoholic beverages falling 4.6 percent.
Farm product sales also fell 4.2 percent in April, indicating an overall slowness in the agricultural sector in the month. 
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