2019.05.0910:24:00UTC+00U.S. Wholesale Inventories Unexpectedly Edge Lower In March

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in U.S. wholesale inventories in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories edged down by 0.1 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in February. Economists had expected inventories to come in unchanged.

The slight drop in wholesale inventories came as inventories of non-durable goods slid by 0.6 percent amid a sharp pullback in inventories of drugs.

On the other hand, the report said inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent, reflecting notable increases in inventories of machinery and metals.

The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales surged up by 2.3 percent in March after rising by 0.3 percent in February.

Sales of durable goods jumped by 1.4 percent amid sharp increases in sales of electrical equipment and miscellaneous durable goods.

A spike in sales of petroleum products also contributed to a 3.1 percent leap in sales of non-durable goods.

With inventories falling and sales soaring, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dropped to 1.32 in March from 1.35 in February.