Mubasher: US wholesale inventories posted the biggest gain in over six years last January, official data showed on Friday.

Wholesale inventories, excluding manufacturing sales branches, climbed 1.2% to $669.9 billion in January, the US Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. This is the largest increase since September 2012.

Stockpiles at wholesalers jumped 7.7% in January, compared to the same month last year.

At January’s sales pace, wholesalers would take 1.34 months to clear shelves, compared to 1.33 months in December 2018.