U.S. wholesale inventories unexpectedly rose in January as sales recorded their biggest decline since 2009, pushing the number of months it would take to clear warehouses to its highest level in more than five and a half years.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday wholesale inventories increased 0.3%. Stocks at wholesalers were revised to show them unchanged in December.
Economists had forecast wholesale inventories unchanged in January after December's previously reported 0.1% gain.
Sales at wholesalers fell 3.1% in January, the largest drop since March 2009, after slipping 0.9% in December.
At January's sales pace, it would take 1.27 months to clear shelves, the most since July 2009, up from 1.22 months in December.
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