US DATA: Aug business inventories +0.5% as expected, with retail
inventories +0.8%. Retail mtr veh inv +1.5%, while retail inv ex. mtr
veh +1.5% on gains in every category except furniture (-0.1%). An MNI
calculation of retail inventories not included in the published
categories shows a rise of 0.8% after a 0.4% decline in July. Total
business inventories ex. retail auto +0.5%. Business sales +0.3% in Aug,
keeping the inv/sales ratio at 1.28, down from 1.29 year ago.