With an increase in retail inventories partly offset by decreases in manufacturing and wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing a modest uptick in total business inventories in the month of July.
The report said business inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in July following a downwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in June. The modest increase matched economist estimates.
Retail inventories showed another notable increase, climbing by 0.6 percent in July after surging up by 1.0 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, the Commerce Department said manufacturing and wholesale inventories both edged down by 0.1 percent during the month.
The report also showed that business sales ticked up by 0.1 percent in July after rising by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in June.
While retail sales rose by 0.8 percent, sales by manufacturers and wholesalers fell by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The total business inventories/sales ratio subsequently came in at 1.36 in July, unchanged from the previous month but up from 1.29 a year ago.
The Commerce Department also said business inventories in July were up by 2.6 percent year-over-year, while business sales fell at an annual rate of 2.7 percent.
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