U.S. business inventories rebound in April

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business inventories rebounded in April, boosted by stocks at manufacturers, suggesting that inventories could contribute to economic growth in the second quarter.

Business inventories increased 0.2% after dropping 0.2% in March, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. The rebound in inventories, a key component of gross domestic product, was in line with economists' expectations.

Inventories increased 5.2% on a year-on-year basis in April.

Private inventory investment rose at its slowest pace in 1-1/2 years in the first quarter, helping to restrict GDP growth to a 1.3% annualized pace in that three-month period. Growth estimates for the second quarter are around a 2.0% pace.

Retail inventories rose 0.1% in April instead of 0.2% as estimated in an advance report published last month. They increased 0.4% in March.

Motor vehicle inventories increased 0.9% instead of 1.2% as estimated last month. They gained 1.4% in March.

Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, fell 0.2% instead of dipping 0.1% as estimated last month. Wholesale inventories slipped 0.1% while stocks at manufacturers jumped 0.5%.

Business sales gained 0.1% after falling 1.5% in March. At April's sales pace, it would take 1.40 months for businesses to clear shelves, unchanged from March.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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