AlHijjah 19, 1432, Nov 15, 2011, SPA -- U.S. businesses kept their inventories steady in September, marking the first time in almost two years that they have not increased their stockpiles, according to a government report Tuesday. The Commerce Department said business inventories were unchanged in September after 20 consecutive monthly gains that dated from December 2009. Business sales rose 0.6 percent in September, the fourth consecutive gain. The slowdown in inventory building reduced overall economic growth by 1 percentage point in the July-September quarter. Still, economists say a temporary decline is not necessarily a negative development. With sales strong, businesses likely will resume restocking depleted inventories in coming months, which should help economic growth in the fourth quarter.
