August Business Inventories Up 0.3%; Sales Rise 0.3%

Business inventories rose 0.3% to $1.668 trillion in August, while sales increased 0.3% to $1.298 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The August inventory rise followed an unrevised 0.4% gain in July. The July inventory figure matched the median 0.3% gain projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

On a year-over-year basis, August inventories climbed 3.1% over the same month in 2012.

The July sales gain followed an unrevised 0.6% increase in June. July sales were 4.2% above the same month in 2012.

The total business inventories/sales ratio, based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of August, was 1.29, unchanged from the previous month's 1.29 ratio. The inventory/sales ratio for August 2012 was 1.30.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER