By Xavier Fontdegloria

 

Business inventories in the U.S. rose at a solid clip in March, signaling that firms continued to replenish stockpiles amid supply-chain disruptions.

Business inventories increased 2% in March after rising by a revised 1.8% in February, data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Tuesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected inventories to advance 1.9%.

Inventories rose by 2.3% at both wholesalers and retailers, and by 1.3% at manufacturers.

The inventory-sales ratio stood at 1.27 in March, unchanged from the previous month.

Inventories are expected to continue rising in the short-term, but businesses will face a more difficult environment as lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine are likely to put more stress on supply chains and keep commodity prices high, economists say.

 

Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 17, 2022 10:23 ET (14:23 GMT)

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