Inventories show a sharp increase
From Times Wire Services
U.S. wholesale inventories jumped 1.1% in February, more than twice what analysts had expected, while sales fell 0.8% in the biggest drop in a year, according to a Commerce Department report.
Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters were expecting inventories to rise 0.5%, compared with a revised 1.3% increase in January, previously reported as a 1% gain.
The decline in wholesale sales was the largest since a 1.4% drop in January 2007, the Commerce Department said.
