U.S. Business Inventories Unexpectedly Unchanged In August

(RTTNews) - Business inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said business inventories were virtually unchanged in August following a downwardly revised 0.1 percent uptick in July.

Economists had expected business inventories to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Wholesale and manufacturing inventories both came in roughly flat during the month, while retail inventories edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales rose by 0.2 percent in August after jumping by 1.0 percent in July.

While manufacturing sales slipped by 0.1 percent, wholesale sales inched up by 0.1 percent and retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent.

The report said the total business inventories/sales ratio came in at 1.37 in August, unchanged from the previous month.