Wholesale Inventories Rise 0.3% in December

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

Wholesale inventories rose 0.3% in December, the slowest pace since last summer, the Commerce Department reported Feb. 11.

Sales increased 0.5% in December after a 1% rise the prior month. The rise in inventories, the smallest since July, followed a 0.5% climb in November.

Inventories of durable goods increased 1.3% in December, but nondurable-goods stockpiles declined 1.3% on a 5.2% decline in inventories of farm equipment, the Associated Press reported.

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