U.S. Business Inventories Rose 0.3% in February
April 18 2019 - 10:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Chaney
WASHINGTON--U.S. business inventories increased 0.3% in February
to a seasonally adjusted $2.017 trillion, the Commerce Department
said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had
expected a 0.3% rise in February from the prior month.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
--Breaking down by sector, factory inventories increased 0.3% in
February from the prior month. Retail inventories rose 0.3% and
wholesale inventories were up 0.2% on the month.
--The overall pace of sales was slower, rising 0.1% in February
from January.
--The inventories-to-sales ratio in February was 1.39, unchanged
from January and a level last exceeded in November 2016. It had
been 1.36 in February 2018.
The Commerce Department data on business inventories can be
found at
http://www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis_current.pdf.
Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2019 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
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