The Bundesbank sees signs of a more rapid upturn in economic activity in Germany than widely expected. In its latest Monthly Report, the Bundesbank cites the positive consumer climate as well as favourable developments in industrial orders and output as factors underpinning this. The economists expect the dramatic fall in crude oil prices to have a marked effect on growth.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says that a uniform set of rules is needed to regulate financial technology start-ups. "It would be wrong for fintechs to base their business models on regulatory loopholes," he said at a conference during Germany's G20 presidency. Federal Finance Minister Dr Wolfgang Schäuble and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands highlighted the opportunities that digitalisation holds in store for developing countries.

Inflation in Germany has fluctuated strongly in the past eight years. The Bundesbank's economists have now examined the extent to which the Phillips curve model explains recent price developments. Import and energy prices have turned out to be particularly decisive.