U.S. Business Inventories Climb Slightly Less Than Expected In August

Business inventories in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.8 percent in August after rising by a revised 0.5 percent in July.

Economists had expected business inventories to advance by 0.9 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report showed retail and wholesale inventories both jumped by 1.3 percent, while manufacturing inventories edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales rose by 0.3 percent in August after slumping by 1.0 percent in July.

Manufacturing sales increased by 0.5 percent, while retail and wholesale sales inched up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

With inventories rising by more than sales, the total business inventories/sales ratio crept up to 1.33 in August from 1.32 in July.