June Business Inventories Unch; Sales Rise 0.2%

WASHINGTON — Business inventories remained virtually unchanged at $1.66 trillion in June, while sales increased 0.2% to $1.29 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The unchanged June inventory followed a 0.1% fall in May, originally reported as a 0.1% gain. The June inventory figure was weaker than the median 0.2% gain projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

On a year-over-year basis, June inventories climbed 3.5% over the same month in 2012.

The June sales gain followed an unrevised 1.1% increase in May. June sales were 4.9% above the same month in 2012.

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

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