U.S. Jan business inventories rose 0.2 pct

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. business inventories rose a slightly more-than-expected 0.2 percent in January from the prior month as sales slumped 0.7 percent, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had predicted, on average, a 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted rise in January's inventories. Inventories were unchanged from their preliminary flat reading in December.

The inventory-to-sales ratio, a measure of how many months it would take to exhaust stocks of goods, rose to 1.30 in January compared with December's 1.28.

While manufacturers drew down their inventories by 0.2 percent, retailers saw a 0.2 percent rise and wholesalers reported a 0.7 percent buildup in January from December, suggesting a supply overhang that cut into factory orders.

Manufacturers' sales slumped 1.2 percent in January and wholesale trade dropped 0.9 percent from December as retail sales inched up 0.1 percent, the data showed.