US Business Inventories Flat in March as Sales Ramp Up

U.S. business inventories were unchanged in March as sales increased by the most in more than two years, which could ease concerns of a broad build-up in inventories in the economy.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that the flat reading in business inventories followed an unrevised 0.3% increase in February. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product, and March’s unchanged reading was in line with economists’ expectations.

Retail inventories fell 0.3% in March as estimated in an advance report published earlier this month. Motor vehicle inventories dropped 0.9% as previously reported. That was the biggest decline since September 2017.

Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, were unchanged in March as reported earlier this month.

The government reported last month that inventory investment added 0.65 percentage point to the economy’s 3.2% annualized growth rate in the first quarter. Economists expect the first-quarter GDP growth estimate could be trimmed to a 3.0% pace when the government publishes its revision later this month.

via CNBC

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