Wholesale Inventories Rise 1.8%

Wholesale inventories rose 1.8% in May, led by the biggest jump in automobile inventories in five years, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Sales slipped 0.2%, the first downturn in three months, Commerce said.

The inventories gain was well above economists’ forecasts of a 0.7% gain, Bloomberg reported.

Durable goods stockpiles rose 1.8%, led by a 4.7% gain in automobile inventories.

Auto sales fell to an annual rate of 11.76 million units in May, from 13.14 million in April, Bloomberg reported.

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