U.S. Wholesale Inventories Climb Slightly Less Than Expected In August

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories climbed by 0.9 percent in August after rising by 0.6 percent in July. Economists had expected inventories to jump by 1.0 percent.

Inventories of non-durable goods surged up by 1.2 percent, reflecting notable increases in inventories of drugs, paper, and petroleum.

The report said inventories of durable goods also increased by 0.8 percent amid significant growth in inventories of metals, automotive products, and computer equipment.

The Commerce Department also said wholesales sales spiked by 1.7 percent in August after coming in unchanged in the previous month.

Sales of durable goods shot up by 2.0 percent amid sharp increases in sales of automotive products and computer equipment.

The report said sales of non-durable goods also jumped by 1.5 percent, largely reflecting a spike in sales of petroleum.

With sales rising at a faster pace than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers edged up to 1.28 in August from 1.29 in July.