The U.S. Commerce Department released wholesale inventories on Friday. Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose 0.1% in August, beating expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.3% decrease in July. July's figure was revised down from a 0.1% fall.

The increase was driven by a rise in inventories of durable goods. Inventories of non-durable goods declined 0.2% in August as computer equipment jumped 1.9%, while inventories of durable goods gained 0.3%.

Wholesale sales fell by 1.0% in August, after a 0.3% decrease in July.