Inventories Up 0.4%; Sales Increase 1.6%

Business inventories were up 0.4% and sales levels rose 1.6% in November, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday.

Business inventories rose to $1.437 billion following an unrevised 0.1 gain in October. IFR Markets had projected that business inventories would be up 0.5% in the month. Overall inventories were 3.5% above the November 2006 level, according to Commerce.

Stocks of autos — by far the largest component of inventories — grew 0.4% in November, following October’s 0.5% decrease. The category is up 4.4% from the previous November.

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