According to the current issue of the Monthly Report, in the final quarter of 2020 Germany's economic recovery was throttled by the higher infection rates and considerably stricter measures introduced again to contain the pandemic. However, in the experts’ assessment, the tighter restrictions have not led to any major setback; instead, real gross domestic product is likely to have more or less stagnated. The pandemic left a deep mark on German economic output in 2020 as a whole.

Many citizens have been increasingly using cards to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic. “According to a representative Bundesbank survey in 2020, the importance of cashless payment methods, especially cards, in everyday expenditures has been growing considerably,” said Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz at the unveiling of the results.

Growth in labour productivity in the euro area has slowed significantly over the past 20 years. This was not least due to structural factors, the Bundesbank explains in its current Monthly Report. In addition to enterprises’ diminishing ability to innovate and adapt, demographic change could also have a negative impact on labour productivity, according to the experts.

Households in Germany are expecting the rate of inflation to increase, according to findings from the Bundesbank Online Panel Households at the end of last year. Survey results from December 2020 indicate that individuals are expecting inflation to come to 3.1% on average over the next 12 months, which is the highest rate measured in 2020.