US wholesale inventories decline unexpectedly in October

Wholesale inventories in the US suffered an unexpected decline in October, figures released on Wednesday showed.

According to the Commerce Department, inventories declined 0.1% compared with analysts’ expectations for a 0.1% gain.

September’s advance was revised down to show a 0.2% increase compared with an initial estimate of a 0.5% rise.

Inventories of durable goods, such as autos and machinery, declined 0.1% compared with a 0.6% drop in September, while inventories of nondurable goods fell 0.1% after a 1.5% gain in the previous month.

Meanwhile, wholesales were flat in October, following a 0.5% gain in September and, as a result, the inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at 1.31 in October.

"Weaker-than-expected wholesale inventory growth in October suggests a slower pace of inventory growth in the fourth quarter as well," said analysts at Barclays.

"Our fourth quarter GDP tracking estimate fell two-tenths to 1.7%.

"Weaker-than-expected wholesale inventories also bring down the estimated profile for total business inventory growth in October. We have revised down our forecast for the Friday release to 0.0%, from 0.1% previously."