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business sales and inventories Finance Definition

A lesser-watched economic statistic that is released monthly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The statistic is usually released about six weeks after the end of the fiscal quarter that the data covers. The business sales and inventories statistic studies trends in inventory accumulation. If inventories are accumulating quickly, that may indicate a slowdown in business growth. If the inventories are declining, it may indicate that business is improving and there will be future growth.