WASHINGTON – U.S. wholesalers’ inventories dipped 0.5 percent in December, to $393.8 billion, the lowest level since August, after rising a revised 1.1 percent in November, the U.S. Census Bureau today reported.
The decline was a surprise to the 36 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, who predicted gains of 0.2 percent to 1.2 percent; their median forecast was 0.5 percent.
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Sales at U.S. wholesalers rose 1.8 percent, to $337.1 billion, doubling the previous month’s gain. The rise was the biggest in seven months.
That report, together with a report last week showing that factory orders rose in December by the most in nine months, was seen as good news by analysts.
“If sales stay up, it means good things for future orders,” Adam York, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., told Bloomberg News. “It looks like the economy is in pretty good shape.”
The full report can be viewed at www.census.gov.
