Merchant wholesalers posted a 1.1% increase in inventories in February, while sales slipped 0.8%, according to data released yesterday by the Commerce Department.
Inventories of merchant wholesalers rose to $421.9 billion following an upwardly revised 1.3% increase to $417.1 billion in January, originally reported as a 0.8% increase to $414.8 billion.
Meanwhile, sales of merchant wholesalers fell to about $377.4 billion, following January’s revised 2.3% increase to $380.2 billion, originally reported as a 2.7% rise to $387.7 billion.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted a 0.5% increase in wholesale inventories and 0.2% growth in wholesale sales.
