Economic Buzz: US business inventories rise in June

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.2 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May.

The modest increase by business inventories came as manufacturing and retail inventories both edged up by 0.2 percent, while wholesale inventories crept up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said business sales climbed by 0.5 percent in June following a 0.4 percent decrease in May.

Retail sales led the way higher, jumping by 0.9 percent, while manufacturing sales increased by 0.5 percent and wholesale sales rose by 0.3 percent.

With sales increasing by more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio slipped to 1.38 in June from 1.39 in May.

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