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Wholesale inventories fell 0.5% in May, the biggest drop since September 2011, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Sales increased 1.6% in May, the most since November, after a 0.5% rise the prior month. TheÌýdrop in inventories followed a 0.1% decline in April, which was originally reported as a rise.

Durable goods stockpiles fell 0.3%, Commerce said.

Economists had called for a 0.3% gain in wholesale inventories, Bloomberg News reported.

Wholesale inventories account for about one-fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.