Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann today kicked off Germany's G20 presidency in Berlin. In their remarks, each underlined the importance of open markets for the global economy.

Economic output in Germany stagnated in the second quarter of 2022. Although the services providers which had been constrained during the pandemic received a boost, high price increases and uncertainty in connection with the war in Ukraine weighed on households and enterprises, according to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report. In addition, the unfavourable developments on the gas market are clouding the future outlook and, according to the Bundesbank, are increasing the likelihood of a decline in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

At the end of the second quarter of 2017, households' financial assets amounted to €5,723 billion; this figure was just over €45 billion (or 0.8%) higher than in the first quarter of 2017. As valuation losses reduced financial wealth by roughly €8 billion, the rise was solely attributable to the transaction-based acquisition of financial assets

The German current account recorded a surplus of €18.8 billion in March 2022, down €2.3 billion on the previous month’s level.