Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €18.9 billion in November 2021, up €1.3 billion on the previous month’s level. The surplus in the goods account declined slightly, but the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, increased more strongly. 

Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann today kicked off Germany's G20 presidency in Berlin. In their remarks, each underlined the importance of open markets for the global economy.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann sees Brexit and the global trade dispute as the two largest risks to Germany’s economy. In a speech delivered in Mannheim, he called on politicians to resolve the conflicts.

Despite the massive shock triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and what were, at times, very stringent containment measures, the number of corporate insolvencies dropped substantially in 2020, the Bundesbank writes in its Monthly Report. This was due in part to the temporary suspension of the obligation to file for insolvency, which is subject to certain conditions. German enterprises’ sales fell far less significantly than they had done during the financial and economic crisis of 2009, the Bank’s economists explain.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €15.4 billion in October 2021, down €4.6 billion on the previous month’s level.