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Inventories edge higher
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September 16, 1997: 9:12 a.m. ET
Business inventories were up 0.2 percent in August, as expected
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Manufacturers' and trade inventories edged up 0.2 percent in July, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The increase to a seasonally adjusted $1.02 trillion was in line with economists' expectations. The inventories figure is up 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago.
The figures indicate that manufacturers are reining in inventories, which climbed in the first half of the year.
Total durable goods increased 0.2 percent from June and non-durable goods were up 0.1 percent.
The inventories-to-sales ratio, which measures how long it would take to sell existing stocks at the current pace, fell to 1.36 months in July from 1.37 months in June.
Manufacturers' inventories rose 0.5 percent in July to $446 billion. Retailer stocks advanced 0.4 percent for the month to $318 billion.
-- Randy Schultz
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