In April 2025, Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €23.5 billion, down €9.4 billion on the previous month’s level. This was attributable to smaller surpluses in the goods account and especially in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

At the Second Forum Bundesbank in Madrid, experts discussed Germany’s economic challenges, the impact of current US trade policy and the potential trajectory of the European economy. International dialogue was promoted by the presence of high-level participants.

At a meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel addressed the geopolitical challenges currently being faced. Speaking at a joint press conference with the new Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil in Banff, Canada, Mr Nagel said that while global economic activity had still been fairly robust at the start of the year, benefiting from the anticipatory effects of announced tariffs, the world economy was now struggling in the face of tightened US tariff policies and great uncertainty.

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.

Economic output in Germany was up in the first quarter of 2025, the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report. Exports of goods, in particular, but probably also investment and private consumption increased. However, the Bundesbank economists expect the economy to more or less stagnate in the second quarter. This is due to the wide range of burdens that persist and the additional headwinds caused by the tightening of US tariff policy.

The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) breaks new ground with the release of the first ever short-term climate scenarios. They provide a detailed view of how climate change and climate policies could affect the global economy and financial system in the near future.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €34.1 billion in March 2025, up €7.8 billion on the previous month’s level. This was attributable to larger surpluses in the goods account and especially in invisible current transactions, which comprises services as well as primary and secondary income.