July US Business Inventories Rise, Business Sales Down

10:06 AM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Business inventories rose 0.8% in July, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. Retail inventories were up 0.8%, revised up from a 0.7% gain in the advance estimate, while wholesale inventories rose by 1.3% and factory inventories increased by 0.4%. Business sales were up 0.3% in July, but with retail trade sales down 0.7% after revision. Wholesale sales and factory shipments both increased by 0.8% in the month.