Wholesale Sales Dip 0.1%; Inventories Up 0.4% in Jan.

WASHINGTON — Sales of merchant wholesalers were down 0.1% to $413.1 billion in January, following a revised 1.4% gain the previous month, while inventories increased 0.4% in the month, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

January sales were 7.9% above the January 2011 level.

The 0.1% fall in sales for January 2012 contrasted with the median 0.8% increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Inventories were up 0.4% to $475.5 billion for January, after a revised 1.1% gain in December.

The January level of inventories was 9.4% above the January 2011 level.

The 0.4% gain for January 2012 fell short of the median 0.6% increase estimated by economists.

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