Business inventories unexpectedly rise, first time in over a year

Business inventories unexpectedly rose 0.2% in October, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Friday, indicating a slight reversal in businesses' cautious stance towards the economy.

A Bloomberg News economists survey had expected inventories to decline 0.2% in October after falling a revised 0.3% in September, less than the previously released 0.4% decline; business inventories also fell 1.5% in August, and 1.0% in July. Further, despite October's unexpected rise, inventories have fallen 12.8% in the past year.