Wholesale inventories rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 per cent in February from the previous month, the Commerce Department said.
The rise in inventories was slightly higher than market expectations. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for wholesale inventories to increase 0.2 per cent in February.
In January, wholesale inventories were revised to show no change, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.2 per cent fall. Year-on-year, wholesale inventories were up 1.8 per cent.
Sales at the wholesale level rose 0.5 per cent in February, after a 1.4 per cent rise in the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, sales were up 6.2 per cent.
Automobile sales fell 4.3 per cent in February, the largest drop since December 1997.
The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indicator of how well stocks are meeting demand, held steady at 1.22 in February, the same level as January. The inventory-to-sales ratio has never been lower than 1.22 since January 1992.
The rise in February wholesale inventories was led by durable goods inventories, such as computer equipment, electrical equipment, automobiles and furniture.
Durable goods inventories rose 0.7 per cent in February after a 0.1 per cent fall in January.
AFP