U.S. Wholesale Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In September

(RTTNews) - Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The report said wholesale inventories increased by 0.4 percent in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in August. The increase in inventories matched economist estimates.

Inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent amid a jump in inventories of computers, peripheral equipment and software. Inventories of non-durable goods also increased by 0.5 percent.

The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales increased by 0.6 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in the previous month.

Sales of durable goods surged up by 2.1 percent, more than offsetting a 0.7 percent drop in sales of non-durable goods.

A sharp increase in sales of motor vehicles and parts contributed to the jump in durable goods sales, while the drop in non-durable goods sales reflected a decrease in sales of petroleum and petroleum products

The report said the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers came in at 1.18 in September, unchanged from August but down from 1.20 in the same month a year ago.