U.S. Business Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In April

Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.3 percent in April following a revised 0.1 percent dip in March.

Economists had expected inventories to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the virtually unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

The increase in business inventories was partly due to a significant rebound in retail inventories, which climbed by 0.5 percent in April after tumbling by 0.7 percent in March.

Manufacturing inventories are also increased by 0.3 percent in April after rising by 0.2 percent in March, while wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 percent after edging up by 0.2 percent in the previous month.

The Commerce Department also said business sales rose by 0.4 percent in April following a 0.6 percent increase in March.

Wholesale sales led the way higher, climbing by 0.8 percent in April after rising by 0.4 percent in March. Retail sales also rose by 0.4 percent following a 0.7 percent increase in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said manufacturing sales came in virtually unchanged in April after increasing by 0.7 percent in March.

With inventories and sales both rising, the total business inventories/sales ratio came in unchanged from the previous month at 1.35.