By Ed Frankl
U.S. wholesale inventories jumped in September at the fastest rate since February, driven by nondurable goods.
Inventories at merchant wholesalers rose 0.5% from a month earlier, after declining 0.1% in August, according to Commerce Department figures published Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected September's inventories to increase by a smaller 0.1%. The rise in inventories was last higher when they grew 0.8% in January this year, having also grown 0.5% in February.
The gauge is a metric in calculating the U.S.'s quarterly gross domestic product, which reflects the health of the economy. The data was previously scheduled for release on Nov. 6, but was delayed by the federal government shutdown.
Nondurable inventories jumped 0.7%, more than offsetting the 0.1% decrease of August. In September, drugs inventories rose on month by 1.9%, for groceries by 0.5%, but for apparel they fell by 0.9%.
Inventories of durable goods--products made to last longer than three years--rose by 0.3%, from a 0.1% on-month decline in August. That rise was driven by higher electrical, machinery, computer and hardware goods, though inventories were flat for automotive products.
The ratio of inventories to sales--measuring how many months it would take for wholesalers to sell current stocks--was 1.29, up from 1.28 in August but down from 1.33 in September 2024.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-11-25 1029ET
