U.S. business inventories rose 0.8% in June as companies sought to rebuild their stockpile of goods in order to keep up with fast-rising sales. The increasse matched the forecast of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Sales surged 1.4% in the month. An increase in inventories adds to gross domestic product and is usually a sign of an expanding economy. The ratio of inventories to sales, meanwhile, slipped to 1.25 from 1.26 in May. That’s how many months it would take to sell all the inventory on hand. Inventories soared early in the pandemic as sales slumped, but now companies can’t keep enough inventory in stock. Sales are strong, but shortages of supplies and labor are holding back production.
