Financial News: U.S. Business Inventories Increase Slightly More Than Expe

U.S. Business Inventories Increase Slightly More Than Expected In March

05/14/2026 - 11:01:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Partly reflecting a jump in wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing U.S. business inventories increased by slightly more than expected in the month of March.

The report said business inventories climbed by 0.9 percent in March after rising by 0.4 percent in February. Economists had expected business inventories to grow by 0.8 percent.

"Business inventories jumped in March, reinforcing their positive contribution to Q1 GDP," said Bernard Yaros, Lead US Economist at Oxford Economics. "With inventories still lean, we look for a pickup in stockbuilding in the next quarters."

Wholesale inventories led the way higher, jumping by 1.3 percent during the month, while manufacturing and retail inventories both increased by 0.6 percent.

The Commerce Department also said business sales surged by 2.1 percent in March after leaping by 1.8 percent in February.

Wholesale sales spiked by 2.8 percent, retail sales shot up by 1.9 percent and manufacturing sales jumped by 1.4 percent.

With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio edged down to 1.32 in March from 1.33 in February.

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