Wholesale inventories in the United States advanced 0.5% in September compared to August's revised figure, and stood at $911.5 billion, the US Census Bureau said in its report on Wednesday. On an annual basis, the reading was 1.8% higher. Sales of merchant wholesalers, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were down 0.2% compared to the month before to $708 billion. The ratio between inventories and sales for merchant wholesalers was 1.29, declining from 1.33 observed in the same month last year. (full story)