Wholesaling: Business Climate Indicator Falls

In wholesaling the business climate deteriorated in February. Although survey participants remained satisfied with current business developments in many cases, they were slightly less positive than in the past three months. Wholesalers also lost confidence in their business outlook. In November turnover rose significantly (nominally: 6.9%; real 4.1%). After January's decline, participants were highly satisfied with developments in turnover compared to the same period last year. Fewer wholesalers described their inventories as too high. Overall, order plans also point to an uptick in ordering activity. The number of employees developed positively in November, according to figures released by the German Federal Statistics Office (1.3%). Wholesalers also plan to recruit additional staff over the next three months. The official index for wholesaling prices rose by 2% in January. Many of the wholesalers surveyed also reported price increases and expect reasonable scope for price increases in the months ahead.