Business Inventories Up in June

Washington, DC, August 13, 2007—Business inventories rose 0.4% in June, after increasing 0.5% May, according to the Commerce Department. Business sales in June declined by 0.3%, after rising an unrevised 1.3% in the previous month.

The increase in inventories was in line with analysts forecast.

The inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.27 in June from an unrevised 1.26 in May.

Inventories since June 2006 have increased 3.6%, while sales during the same period rose 3.3%.

Inventories in the manufacturing sector were up 0.3% in June and were up 0.5% in the wholesaler sector.

Retailer’s inventories in June rose 0.5%. Auto dealer inventories rose 1.0% during the month. Excluding automobiles inventories rose 0.2%.

Inventories rose by 0.2% at general merchandise retailers, 0.6% at food and beverage stores; 0.6% at furniture retailers; and 0.2% at building materials, garden equipment and supplies stores. Clothing retailers saw inventories fall by 0.2% during the month.