WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies restocked more slowly in March, continuing a trend that has weighed on growth this year.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that business inventories rose 0.3 percent in March, the smallest increase since November. Business sales rose 0.6 percent in March.

The pace of restocking has diminished this year from the end of last year, contributing less to economic growth in the January-March quarter.

Businesses order more goods when they increase their stockpiles. That supports higher factory production and faster economic growth.

Stockpiles have remained lean relative to sales. The inventory-to-sales ratio dipped to 1.27 in March, meaning it would take roughly five weeks to exhaust the stockpiles at the March sales pace.

Inventories are expected to keep growing this year. But the gains are not expected to be anywhere near the level seen at the end of last year.

That’s because businesses had cut back on restocking last summer when some feared the economy was on the verge of another recession. When it became clear that it wasn’t, many companies raced to rebuild their stockpiles and keep pace with consumer demand.

Sales were up strongly in February and March, but that reflected in part a mild winter that may have accelerated some sales at the expense of later months. A separate report Tuesday showed that retail sales barely increased in April.

Economists believe the pace of inventory rebuilding is consistent with moderate economic growth. Still, consumers must keep spending for businesses to continue restocking at a healthy pace.

In the first three months of this year, the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent. That’s down from the 3 percent growth in the October-December quarter but better than the 1.7 percent growth for all of 2011. And it was driven by the fastest growth in consumer spending since late 2010.

Consumers spent more partly in response to strong hiring. But hiring slowed sharply in the past two months. Employers added an average of 135,000 jobs per month in March and April. That’s down from an average 252,000 per month from December through February.

Sluggish job growth and weak pay raises threaten to drag on consumer spending. That would drag on growth. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

Stockpiles at the manufacturing level account for about 40 percent of the total while wholesale inventories represent 27 percent and inventories at the retail level account for about one-third of the total.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell in April, reflecting a big decline in gas and energy costs. But outside that drop, inflation was tame.

The Labor Department says the producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, dropped 0.2 percent in April. It was the first decline since December and the biggest drop since October.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core index rose 0.2 percent.

For the 12 months that ended in April, wholesale prices have risen just 1.9 percent, the smallest 12-month change since October 2009.

Modest wholesale inflation reduces pressure on manufacturers and retailers to raise prices. That helps keep consumer prices stable.

Gas prices spiked earlier this year. But they have dropped 5 percent since peaking last month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government took in more money than it spent in April, the first monthly surplus in nearly four years.

But that black ink won’t last. The federal government is on track to exceed a $1 trillion deficit for the fourth straight year, keeping the contentious issue front and center during the 2012 presidential election.

The Treasury Department said Thursday that the U.S. deficit totaled $719 billion through the first seven months of the budget year, which began on Oct. 1. That’s $150 billion lower than a year ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit rose in March at the fastest rate in 10 months. A rise in consumer goods lifted imports to a record level, outpacing a solid gain in U.S. exports.

The Commerce Department says the trade deficit widened to $51.8 billion in March, up from $45.4 billion in February. Imports rose 5.2 percent to a record $238.6 billion, reflecting more foreign oil, autos, cell phones and clothes.

Exports increased 2.9 percent to $186.8 billion. Sales to Europe reached an all-time high despite the region’s debt crisis.

Economists caution that export growth, a bright spot for the U.S. economy, could slow in coming months if more European countries fall into recession.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies in March posted the highest number of job openings in nearly four years, a sign that hiring could strengthen in the coming months after slowing this spring.

The Labor Department says employers advertised 3.74 million job openings in March. That’s up from a revised 3.57 million in February. The March figure was the highest since July 2008, just before the financial crisis erupted that fall.

The 4.8 percent increase in openings suggests job growth could pick up in May. It usually takes one to three months for employers to fill openings.

Still, more than 12.7 million people were unemployed in March. That means an average of 3.4 people competed for each open job. In a healthy job market, the ratio is usually around 2 to 1.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers swiped their credit cards more often in March after cutting back during the previous two months. The increase helped drive overall borrowing up by the most in more than a decade.

Total consumer borrowing rose $21.4 billion in March, the Federal Reserve said Monday. That’s the seventh straight monthly increase and the largest since November 2001.

A measure of auto and student loans increased $16.2 billion. A separate gauge of mostly credit card debt rose $5.2 billion after declining in January and February.