The current issue of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report reports that German economic output was lower in the fourth quarter of 2022 than in the previous quarter. According to the Federal Statistical Office’s flash estimate, real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.2% on the quarter after seasonal adjustment. The Bundesbank’s experts are expecting yet another fall in economic output in the first quarter of 2023. The inflation rate is expected to continue to decline in the coming months, but underlying price pressure will remain high.

In the final quarter of 2022, real gross domestic product is likely to have more or less stagnated, and thus exceeded previous expectations,” the Monthly Report states. Although high inflation and uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine weighed on the economy, the situation in the energy markets eased markedly compared with the third quarter. This, coupled with the government covering advance payments for gas bills, led to a distinct weakening in consumer price dynamics in December. However, prices for non-energy components such as food and industrial goods continued to increase sharply, according to the report.

According to the Bundesbank's latest Monthly Report, the first double-digit inflation rate in 70 years and a high degree of uncertainty about energy supply and its costs are weighing significantly on the German economy. In the forthcoming final quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023, economic output could therefore fall considerably and Germany be on the brink of a recession. However, the extent of this decline is extremely uncertain, according to the report.

Kreditrichtlinien wurden für alle Kreditkategorien weiter verschärft. Kreditnachfrage ist sowohl bei Unternehmen als auch bei privaten Haushalten stark rückläufig. Banken sind wegen notleidender Kredite stärker besorgt und planen Verschärfung der Kreditvergabebedingungen. Klimarisiken sind zunehmend in den Kreditbedingungen berücksichtigt.

In 2022, the Bundesbank registered approximately 44,100 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.7 million in German payments. The number of counterfeits was thus up by 5.2% on the year.

Die Bundesbank hat im ersten Halbjahr 2013 rund 19.500 falsche Euro-Banknoten registriert. Die Zahl der Fälschungen ist damit im Vergleich zum zweiten Halbjahr 2012 um 13,6 Prozent gesunken.

Around 44,100 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of just under €2.7 million were withdrawn from circulation in Germany in 2022. There was a 5.2% increase in the number of counterfeits compared with the previous year.

Die Bundesbank hat im 1. Halbjahr 2010 rund 33.700 falsche Euro-Banknoten registriert. Die Zahl der Fälschungen ist damit gegenüber dem 2. Halbjahr 2009 um 20 Prozent gestiegen. Der durch Falschgeld verursachte Schaden hat sich im gleichen Zeitraum von 1,6 auf 1,9 Millionen Euro erhöht.