A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. decreased by more than expected in the month of October.
The report said wholesale inventories fell by 0.5 percent in October after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.
Economists had expected inventories to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected decrease was primarily due to a steep drop in inventories of non-durable goods, which tumbled by 1.3 percent.
Inventories of farm products, drugs, and miscellaneous non-durable goods showed notable decreases during the month.
On the other hand, the report said inventories of durable goods ticked up by 0.1 percent, reflecting a sharp jump in metal inventories.
The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales increased by 0.7 percent in October after surging up by 1.4 percent in September.
Sales of durable goods jumped by 1.3 percent during the month, while sales of non-durable goods edged up by 0.2 percent.
With sales rising and inventories falling, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dipped to 1.25 in October from 1.26 in September.
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