While the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a rebound in U.S. business inventories in the month of May, the report also showed a drop in business sales.
The report said business inventories rose by 0.3 percent in May after falling by 0.2 percent in April. The increase in inventories matched economist estimates.
The rebound in business inventories came as retail and wholesale inventories bounced back, climbing by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, manufacturing inventories edged down by 0.1 percent in May after coming in flat in the previous month.
The Commerce Department also said business sales slipped by 0.2 percent in May after coming in unchanged in April.
Wholesale sales slid by 0.5 percent during the month, while retail sales edged down by 0.1 percent and manufacturing sales crept up by 0.1 percent.
With inventories rising and sales falling, the total business inventories/sales ratio inched up to 1.38 in May from 1.37 in April.
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