U.S. Wholesale Inventories Tick Slightly Higher In August

(RTTNews) - With an increase in inventories of durable goods partly offset by a drop in inventories of non-durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing only a slight uptick in U.S. wholesale inventories in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in August following a revised 0.3 percent drop in July. The modest increase in inventories matched economist estimates.

The report said inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent, partly reflecting a jump in inventories of computers, peripheral equipment, and software.

On the other hand, inventories of non-durable goods fell by 0.2 percent due largely due to a steep drop in inventories of farm product raw materials.

The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales slumped by 1.0 percent in August after falling by 0.3 percent in the previous month.

Sales of durable goods tumbled by 1.2 percent amid notable decreases in sales of computer, peripheral equipment, and software and motor vehicles and parts.

The report said sales of non-durable goods also fell by 0.7 percent, reflecting steep drops in sales of petroleum and petroleum products and farm product raw materials.

With inventories ticking higher and sales falling, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers inched up to 1.31 in August from 1.30 in July. The ratio was up from 1.20 a year ago.

Next Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on total business inventories and sales in the month of August.