Inventories at US wholesalers rose a smaller-than-expected 0.4 percent in March, government data showed on Monday, as stockpiles of cars and computers declined while petroleum stocks advanced sharply. Wall Street analysts had predicted a 0.8 percent increase in stocks after a 0.6 percent gain in February. The Commerce Department said inventories of durable goods - products meant to last three or more years - edged up 0.1 percent. Inventories for non-durable items increased 1.0 percent as stocks of petroleum jumped 9.3 percent, the largest increase since July 2004.
Auto inventories, which had slipped in February, were down again, declining 2.3 percent as sales retreated 0.9 percent. The auto stocks-to-sales ratio, a gauge of how long it would take to empty stocks at the current pace of sales, shrank to 1.35 months from February's 1.37.
Stocks of computers fell 0.3 percent after a 0.4 percent decline the previous month.
Sales at wholesalers gained a scant 0.2 percent in March after dipping a revised 0.5 percent the previous month. February sales had initially been reported as a 0.4 percent fall. The overall wholesale inventories-to-sales ratio was unchanged at 1.19.
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