Wholesaling: abating pessimism

In May the slight improvement of the business climate that began a month ago continued. The firms no longer so frequently assess their present business as poor and are somewhat less sceptical with regard to the business outlook. This has positively affected their order plans. However, also in May on balance about a third of the wholesalers intend to place fewer orders in comparison to twelve months ago. Employment plans call for cuts, similar to plans reported in March and in April. Prices should stabilise, according to the survey responses.