By Joshua Kirby

U.S. business inventories dropped in November, continuing the previous month's trend amid frail demand.

Inventories fell by 0.1% from a month earlier, data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Wednesday. The reading was in line with the decline expected by economists, according to a poll carried out by The Wall Street Journal.

The drop was led by wholesalers and retailers, while inventories at manufacturers were slightly higher on month. On an annual basis, total inventories were 0.4% higher.

The ratio of inventories to sales, which reflects how many months it would take for businesses to clear their stock at the current sales rate, edged down very slightly compared with a year earlier, standing at 1.37.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2024 10:31 ET (15:31 GMT)