WASHINGTON — Wholesale inventories increased 1.0% in February as wholesale sales dropped 0.8%, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
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The decline in wholesale sales was the largest drop since March 2009 and the first decline since June 2009. Sales increased 3.3% in January, revised lower from a 3.4% gain reported last month. January’s wholesale inventories were revised lower to 1.0% from 1.1%.
Economists expected a 1.0% increase in inventories and a 1.8% gain in sales, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
The wholesale inventory-to-sales ratio edged up to 1.16 in February from 1.14 in January.
