Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, speaking at an event at Ruhr University Bochum, has called for further interest rate steps. Looking to future developments, he said: “In my view, it is by no means certain that interest rates will reach their peak as early as this summer.” He believes that the German economy is well placed to rise to the challenges ahead, even if it did contract over the past two quarters: “With regard to the remainder of the year, our economists are cautiously optimistic. Things should start to pick up again soon, then.”

Der Median der von den Verbraucherinnen und Verbrauchern in den vergangenen zwölf Monaten wahrgenommenen Inflation sank im April 2023 auf 8,9 %, verglichen mit 9,9 % im März. Der Median der Inflationserwartungen für die kommenden zwölf Monate verringerte sich im selben Zeitraum von 5,0 % auf 4,1 %, während die Erwartungen bezüglich der Inflation in drei Jahren von 2,9 % auf 2,5 % zurückgingen. 

In case of a longer-term TARGET incident, the Deutsche Bundesbank may grant interest-free loans as part of the emergency settlement (Enhanced Contingency Solution, ECONS) which have to be covered by sufficient collateral.