U.S. Business Inventories Increase In Line With Estimates In August

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

The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.3 percent in August, matching a downwardly revised increase in July.

Economists had expected business inventories to climb by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.

The report said retail inventories climbed by 0.6 percent during the month, while manufacturing and wholesale inventories both inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales dipped by 0.2 percent in August after jumping by 1.1 percent in July.

Manufacturing sales fell by 0.5 percent and wholesale sales edged down by 0.1 percent, while retail sales were unchanged.

With inventories rising and sales falling, the total business inventories/sales ratio crept up to 1.38 in August from 1.37 in July.