Wholesale inventories rose 1.8% in May, led by the biggest jump in automobile inventories in five years, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Sales slipped 0.2%, the first downturn in three months, Commerce said.
The inventories gain was well above economists’ forecasts of a 0.7% gain, Bloomberg reported.
Durable goods stockpiles rose 1.8%, led by a 4.7% gain in automobile inventories.
Auto sales fell to an annual rate of 11.76 million units in May, from 13.14 million in April, Bloomberg reported.
Wholesale inventories account for about a fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.
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