Wholesale Inventories Rise in May

July 11, 2012 10:15 AM, EDT

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Wholesale inventories rose 0.3% in May as sales dropped, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The inventories gain followed a 0.6% increase in April. Sales dropped 0.8%, the biggest decline since March 2009.

Durable goods stockpiles rose 0.6% and non-durables dipped 0.2%.

The increase matched economists’ projections of a 0.3% gain, Bloomberg reported.

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