By Amara Omeokwe 
 

WASHINGTON--U.S. business inventories rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted $2.043 trillion in October versus the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The increase matched the expectations of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Here are highlights from the report:

-Factory inventories were up 0.1% in October from the previous month. Retail inventories advanced 0.3% and wholesale inventories increased 0.1%.

-The overall pace of sales fell 0.1% in October from September.

-The inventories-to-sales ratio in October was 1.40, the same as in both September and August. It had been 1.36 in October 2018.

-The Commerce Department uses data on business inventories in estimates of U.S. gross domestic product. The department said in November that third quarter GDP rose slightly more than first estimated, mainly due to stronger inventory investment.

The Commerce Department data on business inventories can be found at http://www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis_current.pdf.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 13, 2019 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)