Monthly turnover data are available for industry and the retail trade sector. Quarterly time series are published for the services sector. The results for the retail trade are also included in the calculation of private consumption.

Through its academic survey, the Research Centre of the Deutsche Bundesbank is obtaining a picture of the current situation among firms in Germany and gaining greater insight into their expectations for the coming months. Over time, the survey also provides crucial information on changes within the corporate sector.

As before, there was only a slight quarter-on-quarter change in firms’ expectations over the next 12 months. In the first quarter of 2025, somewhat more firms expected a decrease in short-term liquidity (31%; previous quarter: 30%) than an increase (17%; previous quarter: 15%). Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the gap between these two groups thus narrowed by one percentage point to 14%. 

In the third quarter of 2024, German households’ financial assets grew by €197 billion, closing the quarter at a new record high of €9,004 billion. This is a continuation of the uninterrupted growth trend that has lasted since end-2023.