2019.10.0910:20:00UTC+00U.S. Wholesale Inventories Rise Less Than Expected In August

A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a modest increase in U.S. wholesale inventories in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories edged up by 0.2 percent in August, matching the uptick in July. Economists had expected inventories to increase by 0.4 percent.

The report said inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent, while inventories of non-durable goods crept up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said wholesale sales came in virtually unchanged in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July.

Wholesale sales were unchanged as a 0.3 percent increase in sales of durable goods was offset by a 0.3 percent drop in sales of non-durable goods.

The report also said the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers came in at 1.36 in August, unchanged from the previous month.