Economic Buzz: US wholesales inventories rise in February

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose by 0.3 percent in February, matching the preliminary estimate as well as economist expectations. Wholesale inventories climbed by 0.8 percent in January.

The report said inventories of durable goods crept up by 0.2 percent in February, while inventories of non-durable goods grew by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said wholesale sales surged by 2.4 percent in February after slumping by 0.9 percent in January.

Sales of durable goods led the rebound, spiking by 3.4 percent during the month, although sales of non-durable goods also jumped by 1.4 percent. With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers fell to 1.30 in February from 1.32 in January.

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