U.S. wholesale businesses increased restocking in February while more expensive gasoline drove sales higher, the government reported on Tuesday. The Commerce Department said stockpiles at the wholesale level rose 0.9 percent in February to $478.9 billion. The government also revised January wholesale inventory growth to show a 0.6 percent increase, up from the initial reading of 0.4 percent. Sales at the wholesale level rose 1.2 percent, largely on the strength of gasoline, hardware, plumbing, and heating equipment. Sales were unchanged in January. Faster inventory growth could lead economists to raise their forecasts for broader economic growth in the January through March quarter. Many had predicted that slower restocking weakened economic growth.
