2019.12.1314:33:00UTC+00U.S. Business Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In October

Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The Commerce Department said business inventories rose by 0.2 percent in October after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in September.

Economists had expected inventories to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase in business inventories came as retail inventories climbed by 0.3 percent, while manufacturing and wholesale inventories both inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said business sales dipped by 0.1 percent in October following a 0.4 percent decrease in September.

Wholesale sales slumped by 0.7 percent, more than offsetting a 0.5 percent increase in retail sales, while manufacturing sales came in unchanged.

Even with inventories rising and sales falling, the Commerce Department said the total business inventories/sales ratio came in unchanged from the previous month at 1.40.