By Ed Frankl


Business inventories rose slightly in the U.S. in November, indicating little change in stocks of goods after the election of Donald Trump, according to monthly Commerce Department data published Thursday.

Total inventories across sectors rose 0.1% on month in November, up from a downwardly revised figure of zero growth in October, but 2.6% above the level of November 2023. It matched economists' expectations from a Wall Street Journal poll.

The ratio of inventories to sales, which indicates how many months it would take for businesses to clear their inventories at current sales rates, was 1.37 in November, the same as in October as well as November 2023.

Inventories at manufacturers and retailers climbed 0.3% and 0.2% on month respectively in November, though for merchant wholesalers they declined 0.2%.


Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-16-25 1030ET