By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Business inventories climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in January to $1.57 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had anticipated a 0.5% gain, and the rise in inventories was the largest since October. The gain was led by auto inventories, which surged 2.6%. Inventories, which aren't adjusted for price, stood 7.6% higher than the same period in Jan. 2011. The ratio of inventories to sales stayed at 1.27 in January.
