∙ U.S. Total Business Sales Down in May, Inventories Were Up

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Sales: The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for May, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,245.2 billion, down 0.1 percent (±0.2%) from April 2012 and up 5.1 percent (±0.4%) from May 2011. Inventories: Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,578.4 billion, up 0.3 percent (±0.1%) from April 2012 and up 5.2 percent (±0.3%) from May 2011. Inventories/Sales Ratio: The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of May was 1.27. The May 2011 ratio was 1.27. Source: USDOC

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