Economic Buzz: US wholesale inventories rise in October

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 percent in October after climbing by 0.5 percent in September. The uptick matched expectations.

The modest increase in wholesale inventories came as inventories of non-durable goods grew by 0.8 percent, more than offsetting a 0.2 percent dip in inventories of durable goods.

Meanwhile, the report said wholesale sales fell by 0.4 percent in October after edging down by 0.2 percent in September.

The Commerce Department said sales of durable goods slid by 0.6 percent, while sales of non-durable goods slipped by 0.2 percent.

With inventories rising and sales falling, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers crept up to 1.30 in October from 1.29 in September.

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