U.S. Wholesale Inventories Slump Slightly Less Than Expected In March

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. decreased by slightly less than expected in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories slumped by 0.8 percent in March after falling by 0.7 percent in February. Economists had expected inventories to tumble by 1.0 percent.

Inventories of non-durable goods led the way lower, plunging by 2.7 percent, although the nosedive was partly offset by a 0.5 percent increase in inventories of durable goods.

Meanwhile, the report said wholesale sales plummeted by 5.2 percent in March after sliding by 0.7 percent in the previous month.

Sales of durable and non-durable goods both showed substantial decreases, tumbling by 5.5 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

With sales falling by much more than inventories, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers jumped to 1.37 in March from 1.31 in February.