Wholesale Inventories Rise Less Than Expected

Usually there's not much difference between the advance inventory estimate and the month's final, but there is in March. Wholesale inventories rose only 0.3 percent vs the advance gain of 0.5 percent. The build however is in line with sales which also rose 0.3 percent in the month to keep the stock-to-sales ratio unchanged at 1.26.

Wholesale inventories of autos fell 0.2 percent in a draw that is a plus for auto production. Year-on-year, inventories look lean at a 5.5 percent build which is below a 7.3 percent rise in wholesale sales. Watch for business inventories next week that will follow Tuesday's retail sales report.