Business Invesntories:

Business inventories, the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments, for August, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,075.3 billion, up 0.8 percent from July and up 8.1 percent from August 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,357.0 billion, up 0.6 percent from July and up 7.7 percent from August 2005.  The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of August was 1.26, compared to 1.27 for August 2005. 

Export/Import Prices:

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 2.1 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The decline was the first in six months and was driven by a 10.3 percent drop in petroleum prices. Export prices decreased 0.5 percent in September, the first decline for the index since November 2005.