U.S. Wholesale Inventories Inch Up Slightly Less Than Expected In April

(RTTNews) - Wholesale inventories in the U.S. crept up by slightly less than expected in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in April after falling by a revised 0.5 percent in March.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

The uptick in wholesale inventories came as a 0.5 percent increase in inventories of durable goods was largely offset by a 0.5 percent drop in inventories of non-durable goods.

The report said wholesale sales also edged up by 0.1 percent in April after tumbling by 1.3 percent in the previous month.

Sales of durable goods rose by 0.2 percent during the month, while sales of non-durable goods were virtually unchanged.

With inventories and sales both creeping higher, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers came in unchanged from the previous month at 1.35.