Wholesale Inventories Fell Unexpectedly in September

US wholesale inventories unexpectedly dipped 0.1 percent in September, the biggest drop since December 2006, while monthly sales tumbled for the third straight month, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday.

Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters had expected inventories to rise 0.3 percent in September, after a 0.6 percent gain in August that was previously reported as a 0.8 percent rise.

Sales fell 1.5 percent in September after dropping 1.6 percent in August, which was previously reported as a 1.0 percent decline.

The August drop was the largest since April 2003, when sales fell 2.1 percent.

The plummeting sales pushed up the inventories-to-sales ratio, a measure of how long it would take to sell stock at the current sales pace, to 1.12 months' worth from 1.10 months' in August.

Sales of nondurable goods, which make up more than half of wholesale sales, fell 1.9 percent in September, lead by a 7.8 percent drop in farm product sales.

Petroleum sales fell 3.6 percent. Durable goods sales dropped 1.0 percent, after falling 2.0 percent in August. Durable goods inventories rose 0.8 percent.

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