Business inventories rose 0.4% to $1.743 trillion in June, while sales increased 0.3% to $1.347 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
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The June inventory rise followed a 0.5% gain in May while sales were up 0.3% in May.
On a year-over-year basis, inventories climbed 5.8% over the same month in 2013, while sales grew 4.7% in that period.
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 1.29 ratio. The inventory/sales ratio for June 2013 was 1.28.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.4% increase in inventories.
