US March wholesale inventories rise 0.3 percent

The rise in stocks on hand was accompanied by a 1.8 percent gain in wholesale sales, the highest monthly gain since a 2.3 percent increase in September, 2005, the Commerce Department said.

Economists had forecast inventories would rise 0.4 percent after February’s originally reported 0.5 percent increase.

The stocks-to-sales ratio, a gauge of how long it would take to draw down stocks at the current sales pace, fell to 1.14 months’ worth in March from 1.15 in February.