Businesses inventories, or products waiting to be sold, rose 0.2% in May the government said Tuesday. That matched the forecast of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Higher inventories are typically a positive sign and add to gross domestic product. The government said sales also rose 0.2% in the month. The ratio of inventories to sales was flat at 1.40 That’s how many months it would take to sell all the inventory on hand. The ratio has been on a recent uptrend. That can happen when the economy slows and demand tapers off, potentially leaving companies stuck with unwanted goods that they have to discount to sell.
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