US DATA: Feb wholesale inv +1.0%, sales -0.8% (1st drop since Jun’09),
so inv/sales ratio up to 1.16 vs 1.14 in Jan, but down from 1.17
year-ago. Sales have risen slightly faster than inventories over the
last year, narrowing the ratio over that period. Both durable and
nondurable inventories rose in the month, with a large 9.3% rise in
petro imports (high since Jun’08). Factory inventories were already
reported +0.8% for Feb, so the outlook for the business inventories is
positive pending retail inventories.