U.S. business inventories rise in line with economist estimates

Business inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The report said business inventories increased by 0.3 percent in April compared to a revised 0.1 percent decrease in March. The modest rebound matched the expectations of economists.

Retail inventories rose by 0.4 percent, while inventories at both manufacturers and merchant wholesalers edged up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also said business sales dipped by 0.1 percent in April after tumbling by 1.2 percent in the previous month.

The drop in business sales reflected a 0.7 percent decrease in sales by manufacturers. The report said sales by retailers were unchanged, while sales by merchant wholesalers rose by 0.5 percent.

With inventories rising and sales falling, the total business inventories/sales ratio inched up to 1.31 in April from 1.30 in March. The ratio came in at 1.27 in April of 2012.

The report also showed that business inventories increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in April, while business sales were up by 1.5 percent year-over-year.