Wholesale inventories drop slightly in June

U.S. wholesale inventories slipped by 0.2 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $499.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau said Friday. Inventories were up 2.9 percent from June 2012 levels, the bureau said. Wholesale sales rose 0.4 percent from May to June to $425.9 billion, which is 5.6 percent higher than June 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department agency said. Sales of durable goods rose 1.1 percent month to month and were up 5.4 percent from June 2012. Sales of non-durable goods dropped 0.2 percent from May to June, but rose 5.8 percent from last June. The June inventories-to-sales ratio for wholesalers, seasonally adjusted, was 1.17, the bureau said. The June 2012 ratio was 1.2.