By Sharon Nunn and Sarah Chaney 
 

WASHINGTON--U.S. business inventories grew 0.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted $1.96 trillion, according to the Commerce Department. Here are the report's topline figures:

-Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.5% increase from July.

-Factory inventories declined 0.1% in August from the previous month, retail inventories were up 0.7%, and wholesale inventories increased 1%.

-The overall inventories to sales ratio in August was 1.34, compared with 1.39 in August of last year.

-Monday's figures will flow into the Commerce Department's first release of third quarter growth, which is set to release at the end of October. Economic growth in the second quarter clocked the strongest pace of growth in nearly four years.

The Commerce Department's full report on manufacturing and trade inventories and sales can be accessed at: https://www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis_current.pdf.

Write to Sharon Nunn at sharon.nunn@wsj.com and Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2018 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)