Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €32.4 billion in March 2023, up €9.9 billion on the previous month’s level. This was chiefly attributable to a larger goods account surplus. In addition, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, rose. 

Helmut Schlesinger was president of Germany’s central bank from 1991 to 1993 and is considered a guardian of the culture of stability. This was a culture he established not just within the Bundesbank, but throughout society, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel writes in an op-ed article in the business daily “Börsen-Zeitung”.

The German economy grew last year despite inflation, the war in Ukraine and persistent supply problems. Price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.9%, according to initial calculations reported by the Federal Statistical Office. In calendar-adjusted terms, it found that economic growth amounted to 2.0%. “In 2022, the overall economic situation in Germany was affected by the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the extremely high energy price increases,” said Dr Ruth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office since 1 January 2023, at a press conference.