U.S. Wholesale Inventories Climb Slightly More Than Expected In November

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories climbed by 0.8 percent in November after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in October.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to increase by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.5 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase in wholesale inventories was partly due to a rebound in inventories of non-durable goods, which surged up by 1.3 percent in November after slumping by 1.0 percent in October.

Inventories of petroleum and farm products showed significant increases, while inventories of groceries showed a notable decline.

The report said inventories of durable goods also rose by 0.5 percent in November after coming in unchanged in the previous month.

The increase in durable goods inventories reflected notable growth in inventories of electrical products, metals, and machinery.

The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales spiked by 1.5 percent in November after climbing by 0.8 percent in October.

During the month, wholesale sales of durable and non-durable goods jumped by 1.6 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

With sales rising by more than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dipped to 1.24 in November from 1.25 in October.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com