Wholesale trade sales rose in May

WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- Merchant wholesale trade sales rose marginally in May, while inventories declined 0.8 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday.

Trade sales, adjusted for seasonal variations, rose 0.2 percent in the month to $311.3 billion.

The figures point to a possible turning point in inventory that indicates production may start to accelerate -- a consideration that is more important to economists than to investors.

The Census Bureau said it would now take 1.29 months to sell the inventory wholesalers have built up, down from 1.31 months in April.