In April 2023, Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €21.8 billion, down €8.7 billion on the previous month’s level. This was mainly attributable to a smaller goods account surplus. The surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, remained practically unchanged.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel is expecting to see a further decline in the use of banknotes and coins. Even so, cash is deeply embedded in our everyday lives because of its unique characteristics, he said in a video message at the Bundesbank’s cash symposium in Berlin. Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz stressed that cash still has a valid role to play even as payments become increasingly electronic.

In the Bundesbank’s view, the German economy is recovering only arduously from the crises of the past three years. “In particular, the German economy is still struggling with the consequences of high inflation. This is reducing citizens’ purchasing power,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said as he presented his institution’s latest projections. For the current year, the Bundesbank is expecting gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 0.3% after adjustment for calendar effects. The economy is expected to expand again in 2024 and 2025, at rates of 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

Die Inflation hat sich verringert, sie wird den Projektionen zufolge jedoch zu lange zu hoch bleiben. Der EZB-Rat ist entschlossen, für eine zeitnahe Rückkehr der Inflation zum mittelfristigen Ziel von 2 Prozent zu sorgen. Der EZB-Rat hat daher heute beschlossen, die drei Leitzinssätze der EZB um jeweils 25 Basispunkte anzuheben.