U.S. Business Inventories Climb Much More Than Expected In July

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed business inventories in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of July. The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.8 percent in July following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in June. Economists had expected business inventories to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month. Wholesale inventories led the way higher, jumping by 1.3 percent, while retail inventories grew by 0.8 percent and manufacturing inventories rose by 0.4 percent. The report also showed a rebound in business sales, which increased by 0.3 percent in July after slumping by 1.0 percent in June.