U.S. Feb wholesale inventories down 0.1 pct vs revised 0.4 fall in Jan

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Wholesale inventories fell 0.1 pct in February, the Commerce Department said.    The decline in inventories was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for a 0.1 pct rise in inventories in February.    In January, wholesale inventories fell a revised 0.4 pct, weaker than the initial estimate of a 0.3 pct fall.    Year-on-year, wholesale inventories were up 4.5 pct.    Sales at the wholesale level fell 0.2 pct in February, following a 0.1 pct rise the previous month. This is the first decline since October and the largest since July 2000.    The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indicator of how well stocks are meeting demand, was 1.29 in February, unchanged from January.    Durable good inventories, such as automobiles and furniture, fell 0.4 pct, after remaining flat in January. Automobile inventories fell 0.1 pct following a 2.1 pct fall in January.	    Inventories of non-durable goods rose 0.6 pct in February after a 1.2 pct fall in January.		

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