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Inventories rise 0.3%
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August 9, 1999: 10:57 a.m. ET
June figure matches expectations; wholesale sales jump 1.9%
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wholesale inventories in June rose in line with economists' expectations, according to figures released by the Commerce Department Monday.
The rise, coupled with a record high in sales by wholesalers, indicates consumer spending remains strong as U.S. businesses stocked their shelves at an increased pace.
June inventories climbed 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted $291.0 billion, compared with a revised 0.2 percent rise in May.
The June figure matched the 0.3 percent rise economists polled by Reuters had predicted.
The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how long it would take to deplete stocks totally at the current sales pace, fell to 1.28 months from 1.32 months in June 1998.
Leading the rise in inventories was a 6.3 percent jump in petroleum and petroleum products inventories. Curbing the climb, however, was a 4.8 percent decline in apparel, piece goods and notions.
Total wholesale sales, meanwhile, climbed 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted record high of $228.1 billion, compared with a revised rise of 1.8 percent in May.
June sales of durable goods rose 1.3 percent from May, led by a 2.1 percent jump in electrical goods. Sales of nondurable goods increased 2.6 percent, helped by a 4.4 percent leap in chemicals and allied products.
Shortly after the data were released, the already gloomy bond market showed little reaction to the inventories news itself. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was trading down 15/32 in price, pushing the yield up to 6.20 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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Commerce Department
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