Notes

The balance of payments records all economic transactions between residents and non-residents within a given time period and thus shows a country’s complex economics links with the rest of the world.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €16.1 billion in December 2025, up €1.9 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account decreased, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, increased more strongly.

“The digital euro will make us more independent and more resilient,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel” newspaper. A combination of cash and the digital euro will equip Germany best for the future and for critical situations. Nagel also used the interview to discuss the effects of US tariff policy and the opportunity it might present for Europe as an investment location.

The Governing Council today decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged. Its updated assessment reconfirms that inflation should stabilise at its 2 % target in the medium term.