Wholesale Sales, Inventories Fall

U.S. wholesale inventories unexpectedly dropped in April for the first time in six months, suggesting that distributors were wary of the outlook for sales, a government report showed Monday.

Stockpiles fell 0.1% for the month to $290.6 billion, the first decrease since October, after rising 0.4% in March, the Commerce Department said. Wholesale sales fell a record 2% after rising 1%.

The economy grew at less than 2% at an annual rate in each of the last two quarters as the U.S. prepared for war with Iraq. Retail inventory statistics will be available Thursday.