U.S. Business Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In January

(RTTNews) - Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.3 percent in January after dipping by 0.2 percent in December. The rebound matched expectations.

The modest increase by business inventories came as wholesale inventories climbed by 0.8 percent in January after falling by 0.4 percent in December.

Manufacturing inventories also inched up by 0.1 percent in January after rising by 0.3 percent in December, while retail inventories were unchanged in January after declining by 0.5 percent in December.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales slid by 0.8 percent in January after jumping by 1.0 percent in December.

Retail and wholesale sales slumped by 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, while manufacturing sales rose by 0.4 percent.

With inventories rising and sales falling, the total business inventories/sales ratio increased to 1.37 in January from 1.35 in December.