By Ed Frankl


U.S. wholesale inventories declined as expected in November, as manufacturers continue to juggle with a fragile economy and an uncertain outlook.

Inventories at merchant wholesalers were 0.2% lower at the end of November than the same point a month earlier, according to adjusted Commerce Department figures released Wednesday, matching economists expectations in a poll carried out by The Wall Street Journal.

In October, inventories ticked down 0.3%, according to revised figures that had previously shown a 0.4% fall. November's contraction was the eighth decline in nine months, according to FactSet data.

Inventories of nondurable goods dragged in November, slipping 0.5%, with chemicals levels falling the fastest. Durable-goods inventories were flat on month, though automotive inventories dipped 1.1%, the Commerce Department said.

Compared with the same month a year earlier, total inventories were 3.0% lower, the data showed.

The ratio of inventories to sales, which suggests how many months' worth of stock wholesalers have at current sales rates, was 1.34 in November, slightly lower than the 1.39 in the same month last year.


Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-10-24 1035ET