Wholesale Inventories Rise 0.4% in December

Inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose a smaller-than-expected 0.4% in December as sales of durable goods such as cars and furniture accelerated, the Commerce Department said.

Wall Street economists had expected wholesale inventories to rise 0.9% in December. November’s inventory gain was revised slightly higher to a 1.2% advance from a previously reported 1.1% increase.

The inventory-to-sales ratio, a measure of how long it would take to deplete stocks at the current sales pace, fell to 1.14 months in December from 1.15 months in November.