Wholesale Inventories Expand in May

Stocks on wholesalers’ shelves rose in May for the first time in a year as sales posted their first drop since December, the government said in a report which suggests that the long run of inventory depletion may be bottoming out.

Boosted by rising stocks of autos and computers and nondurable goods, inventories rose 0.1% after a revised 0.9% drop in April, the Commerce Department said. Analysts were expecting a decline of 0.2%.

Sales at the wholesale level fell 0.2%, the first decline since a 1% drop in December, pulled down by sluggish demand for autos and nondurable goods.