US wholesale inventories rise 2.2% in December

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Wholesale inventories in the US rose 2.2% to $790.8 billion in December, according to Commerce Department figures released Wednesday.

The figure, which measures the change in the total value of goods held in inventory by wholesalers, marked its 17th consecutive monthly increase.

While expectations were for an increase of 2.1%, the November figure was revised to $773.6 billion for a monthly gain of 1.7%.

Wholesale trade sales, also known as total sales of merchant wholesalers, also rose 0.2% to $634.6 billion in December.

While the estimate was for a gain of 1.2%, the November level was revised to a 1.7% increase.