(RTTNews) – A Commerce Department report released on Friday showed that US wholesale inventories rose more than expected in August. The Commerce Department reported that wholesale inventories rose 1.3 percent in August after 0.6 percent in July. Economists had expected inventories to rise 1.1 percent. The larger-than-expected increase in wholesale trade inventories was due to a 1.3- and 1.2-percent increase in durable goods inventories. According to the report, wholesale sales rose 0.1 percent in August after a 1.5 percent decline in July. , Sales of durable goods rose 0.2 percent, while sales of non-durable goods were flat from last month. Inventories grew much more than sales, so the wholesalers’ inventory/sales ratio rose to 1.31 in August from 1.29 in July.