Wholesale Inventories Rise in February

Wholesale inventories rose 0.6% in February, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The increase followed a revised 0.1% increase the prior month, which had originally been reported as a 0.2% decline, Commerce said.

Wholesale sales rose 0.8%, marking the 11th consecutive increase.

Economists had forecast inventories to rise 0.4%, Bloomberg reported.

Wholesale inventories account for about a fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.