U.S. wholesale inventories surged 1.1% month on month in December and by 7.3% year over year. That was ahead of expectations and was the fastest rate of year over year growth since Dec. 2012. Increasing inventories of computer equipment and machinery led the way, probably due to stockpiling ahead of – now delayed – tariff increases on Chinese exports. Seaborne imports from all countries rose 9.3% in December, led by a 15.0% rise in shipments from China. While the growth in imports from China slowed to 0.8% year over year in January a surge in shipments from Asia ex-China and the EU meant...