WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With a decrease in retail inventories offsetting increases in manufacturing and wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing business inventories in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of June.
The Commerce Department said business inventories came in virtually unchanged in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in May.
Economists had expected business inventories to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The report said retail inventories dipped by 0.2 percent during the month, while manufacturing inventories crept up by 0.1 percent and wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales slumped by 1.1 percent in June after surging by 2.1 percent in May.
Wholesale sales led the way lower, plunging by 3.0 percent. Manufacturing sales also slipped by 0.2 percent, while retail sales increased by 0.2 percent.
Reflecting the steep drop in sales, the total business inventories/sales ratio rose to 1.30 in June from 1.28 in May.
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