U.S. business inventories rose marginally in May as sales rebounded, adding to a raft of data that have pointed to a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the second quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Monday inventories edged up 0.1 percent after rising by a revised 0.2 percent in April.
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Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inventories unchanged in May after a previously reported 0.3 percent gain.
Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product changes. Retail inventories, excluding autos—which go into the calculation of GDP—increased 0.3 percent after rising by the same margin in April.
(Read more: Bad sign for the economy: Retail sales are weak)