Wholesale Inventories Jump 1%, Commerce Reports

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.S. wholesale inventories rose 1% in December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The December gain, which followed a revised 0.5% increase in November, was double analysts’ forecasts of a 0.5% rise, Bloomberg reported.

Wholesale sales rose 1%, reflecting higher oil prices and more demand for automobiles and computer equipment.

urable goods inventories rose 0.6%, reflecting buildups in stocks of motor vehicles, lumber and hardware. Wholesale durable goods sales rose 1.3%, following a decline of 0.2% the previous month.

Non-durables inventories rose 1.6%, following a 0.1% gain. Sales rose 0.7%, on higher oil prices, following a 1.3% drop in November.

The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures the amount of time wholesale goods went unsold, held at 1.15 months.

holesale inventories account for about a third of total business stockpiles.