Wholesale Inventories Rise 0.3% in December
Wholesale inventories rose 0.3% in December, the slowest pace since last summer, the Commerce Department reported Feb. 11.
Sales increased 0.5% in December after a 1% rise the prior month. The rise in inventories, the smallest since July, followed a 0.5% climb in November.
Inventories of durable goods increased 1.3% in December, but nondurable-goods stockpiles declined 1.3% on a 5.2% decline in inventories of farm equipment, the Associated Press reported.
Wholesale inventories account for about one-fourth of total business stockpiles. Retailers and factories account for the rest.