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February 8, 2007 10:10 AM, EST

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Wholesale inventories fell 0.5% in December, the most since May 2003, as sales surged, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.The decline followed a revised 1.1% rise in November that was less than originally reported. Sales at wholesalers rose 1.8%, the most in seven months. Economists had forecast inventories to rise 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how long inventories would at the current sales pace, fell to 1.17 months from 1.19 months.Stockpiles of durable goods, including computers and imported automobiles, fell 0.4%, while sales of those goods rose 1.1%.Wholesale inventories account for about a fourth of total business stockpiles. Retailers and factories account for the rest.