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Wholesale inventories fell 0.3% in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Sales rose 1.7% after falling 0.8% the prior month. The drop in inventories followed a 0.8% gain in January that was initially reported as a 1.2% rise.

Durable goods stockpiles rose 0.2%, Commerce said.

Economists had called for a 0.5% gain in wholesale inventories, Bloomberg News reported.

Wholesale inventories account for about one-fourth of total business stockpiles, while retailers and factories account for the rest.