Wholesale Inventories Up 1.1%; Sales Rise 2.0% in September

Wholesale inventories increased 1.1% in September, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Wholesale sales increased 2.0%.

Economists expected inventories would increase 0.4% and sales would gain 0.8%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Inventories for August were revised higher to a 0.8% rise from the 0.8% increase originally reported last month. August sales were up a revised 1.0%, originally reported as a 0.9% gain.

Inventories of durable goods increased 0.9% in September following a 0.2% increase in August. Sales of durable goods increased 1.2% in September following a 0.9% increase in August.

The inventories-to-sales ratio dipped to 1.19 in September from 1.20 in August.