According to Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann central banks could do more to curb global warming. In an op-ed for the “Financial Times” he pointed out a number of possible courses of action. However, he added, central banks should stay focused on their primary objective, price stability. “When it comes to saving the planet, central banks do not have a magic wand”, he wrote.

Im Mai zog die Inflation erneut kräftig an, was vor allem auf – auch wegen der Auswirkungen des Krieges – stark steigende Energie- und Nahrungsmittelpreise zurückzuführen ist. Der Inflationsdruck hat jedoch an Breite und Intensität gewonnen, was sich in erheblichen Preissteigerungen bei zahlreichen Waren und Dienstleistungen zeigt. Fachleute des Eurosystems haben ihre Basisprojektionen zur Inflationsentwicklung deutlich nach oben korrigiert.

The German banks responding to the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) once again tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises somewhat in the first quarter of 2021. Standards remained unchanged for loans to households for house purchase, and they were eased marginally for consumer credit and other lending to households.

The coronavirus pandemic caused a historic decline in economic output in Germany, writes the Bundesbank in its most recent Monthly Report. Both the depth and speed of the crash were unprecedented. At present, however, the economy is on a recovery path and is expected to grow steeply in the third quarter.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €28.2 billion in December 2020, up €6.9 billion from the previous month’s level. Although the goods account surplus decreased, the surplus in invisible current transactions – comprising the services account as well as primary and secondary income – increased to a much greater degree.