U.S. Business Inventories Inch Up 0.1% In November, In Line With Estimates

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a slight increase by business inventories in the U.S. in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said business inventories crept up by 0.1 percent in November, while revised data showed business inventories were unchanged in October.

Economists had expected business inventories to inch up by 0.1 percent, matching the uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase by business inventories came as manufacturing and retail sales inventories rose by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, more than offsetting a 0.2 percent dip by wholesale inventories.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales climbed by 0.5 percent in November after coming in unchanged in October.

The report said retail sales grew by 0.9 percent, wholesale sales climbed by 0.6 percent and manufacturing sales inched up by 0.1 percent.

Even with sales increasing by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio in November was unchanged from the previous month at 1.37.