US business inventories rise more than expected in July

Investing.com -- US business inventories increased 0.8% in July after rising 0.1% in June, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday. The gain exceeded the 0.3% increase economists forecast.

Inventories grew 3.8% compared to the same month a year earlier. Businesses have been rebuilding their stock levels after reducing inventories for five consecutive quarters while facing strong domestic demand.

Retail inventories increased 0.8% in July, higher than the 0.7% initially reported last month. Motor vehicle inventories rose 0.8%, also above the previously reported 0.7% gain.

Retail inventories excluding automobiles, which are used in calculating gross domestic product, climbed 0.8% instead of the 0.7% estimated last month. Wholesale inventories increased 1.3% in July while manufacturer stocks rose 0.4%.

Business sales increased 0.3% in July after falling 1.0% in June. At the current sales pace, businesses would need 1.30 months to clear their shelves, unchanged from June.

Inventories reduced gross domestic product growth by 0.72 percentage points in the second quarter, when the economy expanded at a 1.5% annualized rate. Current growth estimates for the July-September quarter exceed a 2% pace.

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