Business inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
The report said business inventories were virtually unchanged in October after ticking up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.
Economists had expected inventories to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.
The flat reading on business inventories came as a 0.1 percent uptick in retail inventories was offset by 0.1 percent drops in manufacturing and wholesale inventories.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales edged down by 0.2 percent in October after coming in unchanged in September.
The modest decrease reflected a 0.5 percent drop in sales by manufacturers, while retail and wholesale sales came in flat.
Reflecting the drop in sales, the total business inventories/sales ratio inched up to 1.38 in October from 1.37 in September. The ratio came in at 1.31 a year ago.
The Commerce Department also said business inventories in October were up by 2.0 percent year-over-year, while business sales fell at an annual rate of 2.7 percent.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com