Business inventories rose 0.5% to in May, while sales increased 0.4%, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
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The May inventory rise followed a 0.6% gain in April while sales were up 0.4% in April.
On a year-over-year basis, inventories climbed 5.6% over the same month in 2013, while sales grew 4.6% in that period.
The total business inventories/sales ratio, based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May, was 1.29, unchanged from the previous month's 1.29 ratio. The inventory/sales ratio for May 2013 was 1.28.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.2% increase in inventories.
