US wholesale inventories rise 1% in November

Durable goods inventories rose at a faster pace of 1.1%, up from 0.8% in October, amid a rebound in furniture and professional equipment, while growth also continued at a high pace for machinery, up 2.2% versus 2.9% a month earlier.

Inventories levels also accelerated for non-durable goods, up 0.7% versus 0.3%, largely due to a bounce back in drug stocks at 2.7% and apparel at 2.3%, up from -0.7% and -0.5%.

On an annual basis, wholesale inventories rose 20.9%, slightly below the 21.9% increase registered in the prior month.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com