Inventories Dip 1% in July

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- July marked yet another inventory decline for businesses, though it was less steep than the month before, according to a government report this morning.

The Commerce Department said businesses shaved their inventories by 1% in July to $1.33 trillion, still less than the revised 1.4% decline the month prior. According to estimates from Thomson Reuters, most expected a 0.9% drop during the month.

Retail supply was cut by 1%, while inventories for manufacturers and wholesalers fell by 0.7% and 1.4%, respectively.

But a continued uptick in sales may bode well for the future. The report said sales climbed another 0.1% during July on the heels of a 1.1% jump in June, the metric's first back-to-back monthly gain of the year.

Still, sales are down by 17.8% since a year-ago in July, while inventories are lower by 11.8%.

Earlier, the Commerce Department said retail sales grew by a better-than-expected 2.7% in August, while the Labor Department said wholesale prices surged by 1.7%.

Shares for some retailers and manufacturers were mixed in the morning. Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) and Kohl's(KSS Quote) were moving lower by 0.5% and 1.2% each. Target(TGT Quote), however, was tracking higher by 0.3%.

Boeing(BA Quote) and Dow(DOW Quote) were adding 1% and 1.4%, respectively. But Johnson & Johnson(JNJ Quote) was changing hands at $60.18, down 16 cents.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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