Wholesale inventories rose in October for the first time in more than a year, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
The 0.3% gain, the first since August 2008, followed a revised 0.8% drop in September, Commerce said. Wholesale sales rose 1.2%.
The value of goods held by distributors rose to $379.6 billion, from $378.3 billion.
Economists had forecast inventories to fall 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.
Wholesale inventories account for about a fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.
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