NEW YORK – Business inventories were flat in January, while sales rose 0.6%, the Commerce Department reported today.
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Economists expected inventories to rise 0.2% for the month, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
In December, inventories fell a revised 0.3%, initially reported as a 0.2% decrease, while sales jumped a revised 1.0%, initially reported as a 0.9% increase.
The inventories-to-sales ratio fell to 1.25, from 1.26 in December, and down from 1.46 a year ago.
Manufacturers inventories rose 0.2% in the month, after dropping 0.2% in December, while retailers saw inventories fall 0.1% after a 0.2% gain in December.
