U.S. Wholesale Inventories Declined 0.5% in October

U.S. wholesalers restocked at a slow pace in October.

Wholesale inventories fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in October from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.4% decline.

Sales in October were up 0.7% from a month earlier. The ratio of inventories to sales fell in October to 1.25 from 1.30 a year earlier. The October figure was the lowest level for the ratio in nearly three years.

The Commerce Department data are available online at:

https://www.census.gov/wholesale/pdf/mwts/currentwhl.pdf

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 08, 2017 10:19 ET (15:19 GMT)