U.S. Business Inventories Inch Up Slightly Less Than Expected In March
(RTTNews) - The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a slight increase by U.S. business inventories in the month of March.
The report said business inventories crept up by 0.1 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected business inventories to rise by another 0.2 percent.
The uptick by business inventories came as wholesale inventories climbed by 0.4 percent and manufacturing inventories inched up by 0.1 percent, but retail inventories dipped by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales grew by 0.7 percent in March after jumping by 1.0 percent in February.
Retail sales led the way higher, surging by 1.5 percent. Wholesale sales also increased by 0.6 percent, while manufacturing sales edged down by 0.1 percent.
With sales climbing by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio slipped to 1.34 in March from 1.35 in February.
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