US Commerce Department (Census Bureau) data: wholesale inventories rose 0.5% MoM
in August, revised from a 0.7% preliminary estimate; July inventories rose 1.4%
MoM. Inventories were up 6.4% YoY. By category, durables +0.8% MoM, nondurables
unchanged, petroleum stocks -3.9%. Wholesale sales climbed 1.8% MoM in August
(July +1.0%), signaling accelerating demand. The inventory-to-sales ratio edged
down to 1.18 months from 1.19 in July. Firms appear to be rebuilding stocks
after five straight quarters of inventory drawdowns despite strong consumer
spending and AI investment.