Reuters
Wholesale Inventories Fall in October
Tuesday December 10, 10:49 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stocks on U.S. wholesalers' shelves fell for the first time in half a year in October, the government said on Tuesday, in a report suggesting warehouses may need to order new supplies to keep up with demand.
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Wholesale inventories fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.4 percent in September, the Commerce Department said. The report confounded expectations of Wall Street analysts who were on average expecting inventories to climb 0.1 percent.
Sales posted a smaller decline than inventories, dipping 0.1 percent, pulled down by slow sales of durable goods like cars and computer equipment.
Auto sales fell 1.9 percent and sales of computer equipment tumbled 2.9 percent. Durable goods sales were down 1.0 percent after a drop of only 0.2 percent the previous month.
The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how long it would take to deplete stocks at the current sales pace, fell to 1.22 months, matching August's record low.
Stocks fell in the durable and non-durable goods categories. Inventories of machinery fell 1.0 percent while computer equipment stocks fell 4.1 percent.
But auto stocks posted a sharp rise as sales declined, climbing 2.6 percent after a 3.1 percent increase the previous month.
Stox Dude
Wholesale Inventories Fall in October
Tuesday December 10, 10:49 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stocks on U.S. wholesalers' shelves fell for the first time in half a year in October, the government said on Tuesday, in a report suggesting warehouses may need to order new supplies to keep up with demand.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wholesale inventories fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.4 percent in September, the Commerce Department said. The report confounded expectations of Wall Street analysts who were on average expecting inventories to climb 0.1 percent.
Sales posted a smaller decline than inventories, dipping 0.1 percent, pulled down by slow sales of durable goods like cars and computer equipment.
Auto sales fell 1.9 percent and sales of computer equipment tumbled 2.9 percent. Durable goods sales were down 1.0 percent after a drop of only 0.2 percent the previous month.
The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how long it would take to deplete stocks at the current sales pace, fell to 1.22 months, matching August's record low.
Stocks fell in the durable and non-durable goods categories. Inventories of machinery fell 1.0 percent while computer equipment stocks fell 4.1 percent.
But auto stocks posted a sharp rise as sales declined, climbing 2.6 percent after a 3.1 percent increase the previous month.
Stox Dude
