Economic activity in Germany may have more or less stagnated in the first quarter of 2022, the Bundesbank’s economists write in the current issue of the Monthly Report. They expect Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine to have had only a limited impact on Germany’s economy at first. Even so, the repercussions of the war are likely to significantly weaken the recovery, which had actually got off to a strong start. “Disruptions to foreign trade and supply chains, soaring energy prices and heightened uncertainty are weighing on enterprises and households,” the report states.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €5.9 billion in October 2022, almost half of the previous month’s result.

How did the ECB Governing Council arrive at its new monetary policy operational framework for the Eurosystem? What principles will be followed when implementing monetary policy in the future? Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel addressed these questions at the 55th Konstanz Seminar on monetary theory and monetary policy. 

Energy prices skyrocketed and the cost of groceries went up significantly: life suddenly became more expensive in many places starting in early 2021. In the current issue of the Monthly Report, the Bundesbank’s economists examine what was behind these price increases, why inflation has since eased again and what role was played by central banks. They also reveal why the path back to price stability has posed no major disruptions to the real economy so far.

The German current account recorded a surplus of €29.8 billion in February 2024, up €1.8 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, declined, the surplus in the goods account grew by an even wider margin.  

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has spoken out in favour of making the rules on debt more binding. "It would be helpful for the rules of the Stability Pact to be simplified," he said in a speech delivered in Freiburg. Furthermore, Mr Weidmann added, a more rigorous interpretation of the rules could be achieved by giving responsibility for fiscal surveillance to an independent authority instead of the European Commission.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says that non-standard monetary policy measures can have a variety of effects on income and wealth distribution. “Much like conventional interest rate policy, the non-standard measures are more likely to have reduced income inequality,” he said in a speech in Hamburg.