U.S. companies restocked inventories at a steady pace in February, the government reported Monday, suggesting businesses are more optimistic about sales. The Commerce Department said business inventories rose 0.6 percent in February, below the previous month's gain of 0.8 percent. The increase pushed business inventories to $1.58 trillion, almost 20 percent above the low hit in September 2009, just after the recession ended. Restocking supplies has not slowed so far this year as most economists had expected., leading many analysts to raise their forecasts for first-quarter economic growth. Bigger inventories require businesses to order more goods, leading to more factory production which increases growth. Before positive economic reports this week and last week, analysts had expected U.S. first-quarter growth of about 2.5 percent at an annual rate. Now, many expect growth closer to 3 percent, which would be the same as in the fourth quarter of 2011.
