US corporate inventories rise sharply in October

The US Commerce Department said today that US corporate inventories rose 1.2% in October after rising 0.8% in September, and on an annualized basis corporate inventories rose 7.8% in October. Retail inventories rose 0.1% in October versus 0.1% in September, and retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the GDP calculation, rose 0.5% in October.

Wholesale inventories rose 2.3% in October, manufacturers' inventories rose 0.8% in October, and business sales rose 2.1% in October after rising 1.2% in September.