Business inventories rose 0.4% to $1.750 trillion in July, while sales increased 0.8% to $1.360 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The July inventory rise followed an unrevised 0.4% gain in June while sales were up a revised 0.6% in June, first reported as a 0.3% increase.
On a year-over-year basis, inventories climbed 5.9% over the same month in 2013, while sales grew 5.3% in that period.
The total business inventories/sales ratio, based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of July, was 1.29, unchanged from the previous month's 1.29 ratio. The inventory/sales ratio for July 2013 was 1.28.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.4% increase in inventories.
