The U.S. Commerce Department released wholesale inventories on Friday. Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose 0.1% in March, beating expectations for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.2% increase in February. February's figure was revised up from a 0.3% rise.

The increase was driven by lower wholesale sales. Wholesale sales declined by 0.2% in March.

Inventories of durable goods increased 0.5% in March, while inventories of non-durable goods declined by 0.4%.