By In October, U.S. wholesale inventories experienced another decline, maintaining the downward trend observed throughout the year. This followed a month of stability in September after a slight and unexpected rise in August.
According to the adjusted figures released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, inventories at merchant wholesalers were 0.4% lower at the end of October compared to the previous month. This decrease was slightly higher than the anticipated 0.2% drop projected by economists in a Wall Street Journal poll.
The decline in inventories during October was primarily driven by a 1.0% decrease in nondurable goods, with petroleum levels seeing the sharpest fall. Conversely, durable goods experienced a slight increase, mainly fueled by rising machinery stocks.
When compared to the same month in the previous year, total inventories were down by 2.3%, as indicated by the data.
In terms of inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how many months’ worth of stock wholesalers possess based on current sales rates, it stood at 1.34 in October. This figure was slightly lower than that of the same month last year.
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