“Oil and gas prices keep going up and down. Financial markets are very volatile. There is a lot of uncertainty. […] But the meeting-by-meeting approach has served us well in the past and will certainly do so in the future,” said Joachim Nagel in an interview with French newspaper “Le Monde”. In the interview, Mr Nagel spoke about current economic developments in Germany, the possibility of interest rate rises at the next ECB Governing Council meeting, and the need for common European solutions.

The German economy has not slowed despite the war in the Middle East, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a joint press conference with Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil as part of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville. Germany’s gross domestic product grew perceptibly in the first half of 2026, he noted. The global economy, too, remains robust despite repeated flare-ups of the conflict in the Persian Gulf.

Digitalisation and interconnectivity are shaping payments in Europe and worldwide. At the Bundesbank’s Payments Symposium, around 200 experts from business, academia and government institutions came together to discuss challenges and opportunities in the world of payments. Speakers included Bundesbank Executive Board members Lutz Lienenkämper and Burkhard Balz as well as ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone.

The international importance of a currency is reflected not only in its use as a reserve or anchor currency, but also in its role as an invoicing currency in trade across national borders. In the current issue of the Monthly Report, our experts examine the euro’s international role as an invoicing currency and its potential.