Business Inventories Rise Slows
The U.S. Department of Commerce released business inventories data for the month of August on Wednesday morning.
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The U.S. Department of Commerce released business inventories data for the month of August on Wednesday morning. A growth in inventories can be positive for GDP calculations, but too much growth can lead to negative production and employment.
The reading for business inventories came in at 0.2%, against a Bloomberg consensus estimate of 0.4%. The previous level was 0.4%. At the same time there was a 0.4% decline in business sales.
Despite the drop in business sales and increase in inventories, the inventory-to-sales ratio remained unchanged from the previous level at 1.29. The reading for the August inventory-to-sales ratio from the previous year was 1.28.
Retail inventories thinned in August relative to the sales, and on a total dollar basis the stock-to-sales ratio dropped to 1.41 from 1.43.
The stock-to-sales ratio for autos showed a sharp decline to 2.07 from 2.13. However, this may reverse in the next report, considering the weakness in the motor vehicle component in September retail sales.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
