91.   With sales declining, inventories rising and production slipping, companies are using less of their factories.

92.   Yet manufacturers will likely cut production in the coming months because their inventories have risen recently.

93.   Analysts had expected inventories to rise only slightly as businesses hold stockpiles at lower levels after sales slumped earlier in the year.

94.   Business inventories rise, sales flat in January.

95.   Business inventories rose in April, while sales fell.

96.   However, gasoline inventories rose in June, causing U.S. prices at the pump to collapse.

97.   In another report, the Commerce Department said business inventories rose in November for the eighth consecutive month.

98.   Meanwhile, after the close of trading, the American Petroleum Institute released a weekly inventory report showing moderate drawdowns on crude stores, while gasoline inventories rose slightly.

99.   Oil inventories have risen slightly in key importing nations, and prices for crude and gasoline have eased in recent weeks, the report found.

100.   Refiners are once again finding it profitable to increase production, and the IEA forecast that inventories would rise substantially in the second quarter.