Wholesale stats rebound in January

Aided by strong agricultural and durable good sales, merchant wholesale business rebounded in a major way during January after a sluggish December, according to a Department of Commerce report. Sales at U.S wholesaling rose 2.7% in January to $387.7 billion, a 15.1% rise from January 2007, following a 0.5% drop in December for the largest monthly increase since a 3.3% jump in March 2004. Farm product sales jumped 16.1% for January and 73.3% from the year-ago period. January sales of durable goods were up 2.4% from the previous month and 5.1% from the year-ago period. Wholesale inventories rose 0.8% for the month after a 1.1% increase in December and were up 6.4% from January 2007. Inventories on durable goods rose 0.6% after falling 0.3% in December and were up 1.7% from the year-ago period. Furniture and home furnishings were up 1.9% from December with non-durable goods rising 1.2% in January.