Wholesaling (east):
Less pronounced pessimism

In eastern Germany pessimism in the business expectations weakened clearly. However, the current business situation fell to a very unsatisfactory level. The key factor here was that in spite of relatively lively sales activity, inventory pressure has increased strongly. The order plans were contractive on the whole. As in western Germany the firms in the east also reckon with a clear rise of sale prices in the coming months. The number of staff dismissals will continue, according to the surveyed firms.