The Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing wholesale inventories in the U.S. decreased in line with economist estimates in the month of December.
The report said wholesale inventories slid by 0.5 percent in December after edging down by 0.1 percent in November. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to fall by 0.5 percent, matching the preliminary estimate.
The decrease by wholesale inventories came as inventories of durable goods fell by 0.6 percent, while inventories of non-durable goods dipped by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said wholesale sales jumped by 1.0 percent in December after climbing by 0.9 percent in November.
While sales of durable goods crept up by just 0.1 percent during the month, sales of non-durable goods surged by 1.9 percent.
With sales increasing and inventories falling, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers slipped to 1.31 in December from 1.33 in November.