U.S. Wholesale Inventories Increase Modestly In November

(RTTNews) - The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing another modest increase by wholesale inventories in the U.S. in the month of November.

The report said wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 percent in November, matching the increase seen in October.

Inventories of durable goods crept up by 0.2 percent in November after edging down by 0.1 percent in October, while inventories of non-durable goods ticked up by 0.2 percent in November after climbing by 0.7 percent in October.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said wholesale sales jumped by 1.3 percent in November after falling by 0.4 percent in November.

Sales of durable goods shot up by 1.2 percent in November after sliding by 0.7 percent in October, while sale of non-durable goods surged by 1.5 percent in November after dipping by 0.1 percent in October.

With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers slipped to 1.28 in November from 1.30 in October.