WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - US wholesale inventories increased slightly more than initially thought in September amid strong rises in the stocks of electrical goods and hardware, likely related to the artificial intelligence buildout.
Stocks at wholesalers rose by an upwardly revised 0.7%, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday. Inventories, a key part of gross domestic product, were previously reported to have advanced 0.6%. They climbed 0.6% in August. Inventories increased 7.6% on a year-over-year basis in September.
Durable goods inventories at wholesalers rose 0.6%, with stocks of electrical goods surging 2.5%, while those of hardware rebounded 1.3%. Businesses are aggressively spending on AI, which has become one of the key drivers of economic growth. Petroleum inventories shot up 10.6% in September.
Inventory investment rebounded in the third quarter after contracting for five straight quarters. Inventories contributed 1.61 percentage points to the economy's 3.4% annualized growth pace in the July-September quarter.
Sales at wholesalers jumped 2.8% in September after increasing 2.0% in August. At September's sales pace it would take 1.21 months to clear shelves, down from 1.23 months in August. The inventories/sales ratio was at 1.34 months in September 2025.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)