Retailing: Prices Continue to Rise Despite Cooldown in Climate

The business climate in retailing cooled down significantly in October. Business expectations in particular were far more pessimistic and lower than their historical average. In view of lacklustre demand retailers’ assessments of their current business situation were also slightly less favourable. Against a background of higher inventory overhangs, more retailers planned to restrict their ordering activity. The upward trend in prices is expected to continue. Retailing prices were 2.1% higher in September than in the same month last year, marking their sharpest increase since February 2017 (2.4%).