Wholesale Inventories Rise 1.4%; Sales Gain 1.0% in October

WASHINGTON - The value of wholesale inventories rose 1.4% in October while sales were up 1.0%, according to data released Monday morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.

Auto sales weighed down the headline build, dropping 4.5% in the month. Inventories excluding the autos category showed a 1.3% increase, according to an MNI calculation, after a 1.0% build in September.

The overall inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at 1.18 in October, but was still below the 1.22 the year before.

The value of durable inventories rose 0.4% in the month.

Nondurable inventories were up 3.0% in the month.

Durable sales were flat in the month.

Nondurable sales rose 1.8%.

 

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