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Ifo: German Retail Sentiment Brightens Slightly Amid Ongoing Uncertainty

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The business climate in Germany's retail sector showed modest improvement in July, though persistent uncertainty from the Iran conflict and fears of rising prices continue to weigh on the industry's outlook, the ifo Institute said Monday.

The ifo business climate index for the sector rose to -28.7 points in July from -32.4 points in June as retailers viewed current business conditions less pessimistically and grew somewhat more optimistic about the outlook, though expectations remained "predominantly pessimistic."

According to surveyed retailers, 54% perceive demand for the month as "insufficient." For the second quarter, 48.2% of brick-and-mortar retailers reported lower-than-usual customer numbers, while only 25.6% of online sellers reported fewer clicks than usual.

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