A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed business inventories in the U.S. came in flat in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said business inventories were virtually unchanged in July following a revised 0.1 percent dip in June.
Economists had expected business inventories to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
The unchanged reading in July came as manufacturing and retail inventories crept up by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while wholesale inventories slipped by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales climbed by 0.6 percent in July after edging down by 0.2 percent in June.
Wholesale sales advanced by 0.8 percent, while manufacturing and retail sales increased by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
With sales climbing and inventories unchanged, the total business inventories/sales ratio based dipped to 1.39 in July from 1.40 in June.
