Wholesale inventories unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, with the report also showing another notable increase in wholesale sales.
The report showed that wholesale inventories increased by 0.3 percent in October following a revised 0.8 percent decrease in September. The increase surprised economists, who had expected inventories to fall 0.5 percent compared to the 0.9 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected monthly increase, wholesale inventories rose for the first time since August of 2008. Nonetheless, inventories remained down 13.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
The monthly increase came as a 1.5 percent increase in inventories of non-durable goods more than offset a 0.4 percent decrease in inventories of durable goods. A 1.9 percent increase in inventories of drugs contributed to the increase non-durable goods inventories.
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist for Miller Tabak, said, "An inventory build has been the hoped for theme in boosting GDP growth, and looking at today's headline report lends support to that, but underneath the hood (aka, at durable goods) shows a much more mixed picture still."
Additionally, the Commerce Department said that wholesale sales increased by 1.2 percent in October following an upwardly revised 1.3 percent increase in the previous month. Despite the continued monthly increase, however, sales were down 9.6 percent year-over-year.
Wholesale sales of durable and non-durable goods both increased by 1.3 percent in October, contributing to the monthly increase.
With sales rising at a faster pace than inventories, the wholesale inventories-to-sales ratio still fell to 1.16 in October from 1.17 in September, falling to its lowest level since August of 2008.
Friday morning, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on total business inventories in the month of October, which includes wholesale inventories. Economists currently expect the report to show a 0.3 percent drop in inventories following a 0.4 percent decrease in September.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.