U.S. Wholesale Inventories Unexpectedly Fall 0.5% In January

(RTTNews) - Wholesale inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The report said wholesale inventories fell by 0.5 percent in January following a revised 0.1 percent dip in December.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to rise by 0.2 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

While inventories of durable goods were virtually unchanged, inventories of non-durable goods tumbled by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said wholesale sales climbed by 0.5 percent in January after jumping by 1.3 percent in December.

Sales of durable goods shot up by 1.0 percent during the month, while sales of non-durable goods were virtually unchanged.

With inventories falling and sales rising, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers edged down to 1.25 in January from 1.26 in December.