U.S. business inventories rose 1.2% in April, the government said Wednesday, to mark the seventh straight increase over 1%. Sales rose 0.4% in the month. An increase in inventories adds to gross domestic product and is usually a sign of an expanding economy. The ratio of inventories to sales, meanwhile, rose to 1.29 from 1.28. That’s how many months it would take to sell all the inventory on hand.
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