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Wholesale inventories fell in March for the seventh consecutive month, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The 1.6% decline followed a revised 1.7% downturn in February, Commerce said. Sales fell 2.4%.

Economists had forecast inventories to fall 1%, Bloomberg reported. February’s drop was the largest on record.

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