Merchant wholesalers posted a 1.3% increase in inventories in April, while sales jumped 1.4% in the month, according to data released Friday by the Commerce Department.
Inventories of merchant wholesalers grew to $427.4 billion, following an upwardly revised 0.1% increase to $421.7 billion in March. Meanwhile, sales of merchant wholesalers rose to about $390.3 billion, following March’s revised 1.8% increase to $385.1 billion.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted a 0.5% increase in inventories, and 0.5% growth in sales.
