U.S. Wholesale Inventories Rose In February

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Meanwhile, here are the major economic headlines from the last week:

• U.S. wholesale inventories increased 0.3 percent in February after rising 0.8 percent the previous month. Wholesale sales were up 2.4 percent in February after a 0.9 percent decline in January, and the inventories-to-sales ratio dropped to 1.30 from 1.32 a month earlier.
• The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time ever was 223,000 during the week that ended April 5, a number that was up by 4,000 from the week before. Averaged over the past four weeks, the number of first-time claims held steady at 223,000. In all, nearly 1.85 million people claimed unemployment benefits during the week that ended March 29. That figure was down by 10,000 from the week before.
• Readings for inflation in the United States were mixed in March. The U.S. Producer Price Index for final demand decreased 0.4 percent in from February 2025 to March 2025 and 2.7 percent from March 2024 to March 2025. The U.S. Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent from February to March, but rose 2.4 between March 2024 and March 2025, meanwhile.