Wholesaling (east):
Increased discontent

The cooling of the business climate in eastern German wholesaling resulted from the renewed deterioration of the current situation. Inventories continue to be assessed as too large. Although the pessimism decreased with regard to the six-month business outlook, the enterprises see no reason to change their restrictive order policies for the time being - unlike their colleagues in the west. Retail prices could fall somewhat in both eastern and western Germany in the coming months.