Wholesale trade in chemicals grew 1.4% in the U.S. in January, to $10.8 billion, while inventories fell 1.3% to $12.6 billion, according to the most recent Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).
As a result of the January rise in wholesale trade, the inventory-to-sales ratio fell from 1.20 in December of last year to 1.17 in January, the ACC report said. A year earlier, the ratio was 1.12.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; Paris; www.oecd.org) released its composite leading indicator (CLI) for January, and the data indicate that the CLI for the OECD+6 (OECD member countries plus six major non-member economies) held steady in January.
Regarding the OECD CLI, the ACC report said, “The underlying picture is that of strengthening growth momentum in the major advanced nations.”
“There is a rising profile for the U.S., U.K,, the Euro Area and Japan,” the report remarks, adding “This contrasts with the CLIs for the major emerging economies, which, in the aggregate, are signaling a continued cyclical slowdown.”