MarketWatch (04/09/13) Jeffrey Bartash

U.S. wholesale inventories dropped 0.3% in February and were revised down for January, a sign that companies stopped stockpiling goods as rapidly, perhaps in anticipation of slower sales. Wholesale sales jumped 1.7%, however, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday. Economists had been expecting another gain in wholesale inventories. At February’s sales pace, the inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.19 months from 1.21 in January. Inventories of durable goods edged up 0.2% in February, while inventories of nondurables slid 0.9%. In January, inventories were revised down to a 0.8% increase from an initial read of 1.2%.