Brisk industrial activity kept Germany’s economy on a strongly expansionary path in the third quarter of 2017, and growth looks set to remain buoyant in the fourth quarter. The Bundesbank’s experts, writing in the latest Monthly Report, put this assessment down to the record-high sentiment in trade and industry, the excellent order situation in industry, and what remains a high level of consumer confidence.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has warned of the flipside of protectionism. "Trade-restrictive measures often provoke backlashes, and these harbour the risk of erupting into trade wars in which there can only be losers," he said in a speech in Hamburg.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors reaffirm their commitment to international economic and financial cooperation at their two-day meeting in Baden-Baden.

According to Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, central banks should beware of crowding out private payment solutions and should play a supportive role instead. Mr Weidmann pointed out that competition and regulation are essential for a good market outcome. As central banks provide the backbone of the payment system, they need to be at the cutting edge of technology, he explained. This, he emphasised to participants of a Bundesbank virtual conference, includes working on central bank digital currency.