U.S. wholesale inventories continued to increase in July, but the pace in which firms restocked shelves slowed compared with the previous month amid cooling demand. Inventories of U.S. merchant wholesalers rose 0.6% in July on month, down from a 1.8% increase in June, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.8% increase. Inventories were up 25.1% from the same month a year earlier. The ratio of inventories to sales stood at 1.29, up from the 1.26 the previous month and well above the 1.19 registered in July 2021, the Commerce Department's data showed. (full story)