Business inventories in the United States increased by 0.2% in September compared to the month before, and reached $2,670 billion, the US Census Bureau revealed in its report on Tuesday. On an annual basis, the figure rose by 1.2%. The combined value of trade sales and manufacturers' shipments landed at $1,947.5 billion in the reported month, unchanged month-over-month and up by 3.7% year-over-year. The total ratio of business inventories to sales stood at 1.37 at the end of September, based on seasonally adjusted data, down from last year's ratio of 1.40. (full story)