(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on
Thursday showed U.S. wholesale inventories fell by more than
expected in the month of October. The Commerce Department said
wholesale inventories declined by 0.4 percent in October after
coming in unchanged in September. Economists had expected wholesale
inventories to dip by 0.2 percent. The bigger than expected
decrease came as inventories of non-durable goods slumped by 1.0
percent, more than offsetting a 0.1 percent uptick in inventories
of durable goods. The report also showed a sharp pullback in
wholesale sales, which tumbled by 1.3 percent in October after
surging by 2.0 percent in September. Sales of non-durable goods
plunged by 2.0 percent during the month, while sales of durable
goods fell by 0.5 percent. With sales falling by much more than
inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers
crept up to 1.34 in October from 1.33 in September. The views and
opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.