WASHINGTON – The value of business inventories rose 0.5% in June, as expected by analysts and predicted by an MNI calculation, while business sales were up 0.3%, a Commerce Department report Tuesday showed.
Retail inventories rose 0.6%, unchanged from the advance estimate. Wholesale inventories rose 0.7% in the month, while factory inventories were up 0.2%.
Business inventories would have been up 0.4% in June if a 0.7% increase in retail motor vehicle inventories was excluded, an MNI calculation showed.
Retail inventories, after excluding the motor vehicle inventory gain, were up 0.5% in the month, unchanged from the advance estimate. The remaining retail components were mixed, with gains in building materials and general merchandise stores, but down for food & beverage and clothing.
The unpublished retail categories were up 1.0% for the month, according to an MNI calculation, following a 0.8% increase in the previous month.
Business sales rose 0.3% in June. Retail sales excluding food services rose 0.3%, while wholesale sales rose 0.7% and factory shipments fell 0.2%.
With the movements in business inventories and sales, the inventory-to-sales ratio was up slightly to 1.38 in June from 1.37 in May, but was down moderately from 1.40 in June 2016 as sales growth sharply outpaced inventory growth over the last year.
