| U.S. business inventories up 0.1 pct in June |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2012-08-15 08:29 |
|
|
U.S. manufacturing and trade companies slightly boosted their stockpiles but their sales posted a decline in June, the Department of Commerce reported Tuesday.
The June inventory figure of 1.5803 trillion U.S. dollars was 0.1 percent higher than the previous month, and it also represented a 5 percent increase from a year earlier, said the department.
Combined sales by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers dropped 1.1 percent from May to 1.2297 trillion dollars in June, said the department.
The total business inventories-to-sales ratio, which measures the time span of the inventories being sold, stood at 1.29 by the end of June, higher than the level of 1.26 one year earlier.
It is normally interpreted as a positive sign of economy when businesses step up restocking. Companies need to order more goods to build their inventories, which generally would boost factory production. |
|
|
|
|
