Reflecting a notable increase in inventories of non-durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose more than expected in June.
The report said wholesale inventories climbed by 0.9 percent in June following a revised 0.6 percent increase in May. Economists had expected inventories to rise by 0.4 percent.
The bigger than expected increase came as inventories of non-durable goods surged up by 2.3 percent amid jumps in inventories of farm product raw materials and petroleum and petroleum products.
Inventories of durable goods showed a more modest 0.1 percent uptick, as a jump in inventories of motor vehicles and parts was partly offset by a drop in inventories of computers, peripheral equipment and software.
The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales inched up by 0.1 percent in June after edging up by 0.2 percent in May.
The modest increase came as sales of non-durable goods climbed by 1.2 percent but sales of durable goods fell by 1.1 percent.
With inventories rising by more than sales, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers crept up to 1.30 in June from 1.29 in May.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on total business inventories and sales in the month of June.
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