U.S. March Business Inventories Up 0.1%, Sales Rise 0.4%

Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.1% in March, compared with 0.2% growth in the prior month, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected March growth of 0.2%, compared with an originally reported increase of 0.3% in February. Meanwhile, business sales rose 0.4% in March, compared with a drop of 0.2% in the prior month. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, ticked down to 1.36 in March from 1.37 in February.