Inventories Slide 1.5%; Wholesale Sales Rise 0.6%

Merchant wholesalers posted a 1.5% decrease in inventories in February, while sales climbed 0.6% in the month, according to data released yesterday by the Commerce Department.

Inventories of merchant wholesalers slid to $419.9 billion, following a 0.7% decrease to $425.9 billion in January. Sales of merchant wholesalers rose to about $319.7 billion, following January's 2.4% decrease to $317.7 billion.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 0.2% decrease in wholesale inventories.

Inventories were off 1.7% from February 2008, when they were $426.6 billion, while year-over-year sales posted a 14.3% slump from $373.0 billion.

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