Wholesale Inventories Rise in October

Wholesale inventories rose in October for the first time in more than a year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The 0.3% gain, the first since August 2008, followed a revised 0.8% drop in September, Commerce said. Wholesale sales rose 1.2%.

The value of goods held by distributors rose to $379.6 billion, from $378.3 billion.

Economists had forecast inventories to fall 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.

Wholesale inventories account for about a fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.