The U.S. Commerce Department released the business inventories data on Wednesday. The U.S. business inventories decline 0.1% in February, in line with expectations, after a 0.1% decrease in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.1% rise.
Retail inventories climbed 0.6% in February, wholesale inventories were down 0.5%, while manufacturing inventories decreased 0.4%.
Retail sales declined 0.2% in February, while business sales were down 0.4%.
The business inventories/sales ratio remained unchanged at 1.41 months in February. The business inventories /sales ratio is a measure of how long it would take to clear shelves.