Financial News: U.S. Business Inventories Climb More Than Expected In

U.S. Business Inventories Climb More Than Expected In February

04/21/2026 - 10:39:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed business inventories in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.4 percent in February following a revised unchanged reading in January.

Economists had expected business inventories to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase in business inventories came as wholesale inventories grew by 0.8 percent in February after falling by 0.3 percent in January.

Retail inventories also rose by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by 0.3 percent in January, while manufacturing inventories inched up by 0.1 percent for the second straight month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales shot up by 1.7 percent in February after rising by 0.6 percent in January.

Wholesale sales led the way higher, surging by 2.7 percent in February after jumping by 1.1 percent in January.

The report said manufacturing sales also leapt by 1.4 percent in February after climbing by 0.7 percent in January, while retail sales grew by 0.7 percent in February after coming in unchanged in January.

With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio dipped to 1.33 in February from 1.35 in January.

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