News In Brief

Wholesale prices up 0.5%; inventories up 0.8%

Wholesale prices rose 0.5 percent in November, the largest monthly increase since January, while industrial production surged 0.4 percent in the same month, its first gain in three months, the Labor Department said Friday.

In another economic report, the Commerce Department said that inventories held by US businesses climbed 0.8 percent in October while sales were up 0.1 percent after three consecutive declines.