WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department business inventories climbed by 0.5 percent in April after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in March.
Economists had expected business inventories to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.9 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
The report said retail inventories increased by 0.7 percent, wholesale inventories climbed by 0.6 percent and manufacturing inventories rose by 0.3 percent.
The Commerce Department also said business sales shot up by 1.2 percent in May after spiking by 2.2 percent in April.
Wholesale sales surged by 2.0 percent, manufacturing sales jumped by 1.0 percent and retail sales rose by 0.3 percent, the report said.
With sales increasing by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio edged down to 1.31 in April from 1.32 in March.
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