Wholesale inventories increased 0.4% in December, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Wholesale sales rose 1.2%.
Economists expected inventories would be up 0.2% and sales would rise 0.7%, according to the median estimate from economists polled by IFR Markets.
Inventories for November grew 0.6% gain, first reported as a 0.8% increase. November sales were 1.9% higher, first reported as a 1.5% increase.
Inventories of durable goods were up 0.4% in December following a 0.4% increase in November. Sales of durable goods increased 1.0% in December following a 1.5% gain in November.
Inventories of nondurable goods rose 0.4% in December following a 0.9% climb in November. Sales of nondurable goods climbed 1.5% in December following a 2.2% jump in November.
The inventories-to-sales ratio dipped to 1.22 in December from 1.23 in November. A year ago the inventories-to-sales ratio was 1.29%.
