The inflation expectations of German consumers are relatively well-anchored, a Bundesbank pilot survey of households in Germany between April and June 2019 has found.

In 2018, German enterprises operating outside the financial sector earned 4.2 cent on each euro of sales. According to the current December edition of the Monthly Report, this figure was 4.8 cent in 2017. 

Economic activity in Germany is likely to gradually pick up momentum again, according to the Bundesbank’s latest forecast. Alongside the greatly supportive fiscal policy and highly expansionary monetary policy, this is chiefly due to a rebound in export growth following an extended period of weakness.

Since 2017, the Bundesbank has been upgrading its BPS 1120 cash processing machines to the new BPS M7 model. While the old model worked at a speed of 22 banknotes per second, the M7 can process 33 per second.

In the view of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, the ECB Governing Council’s forward guidance has contributed to lowering long-term interest rates and stimulating the euro area economy. However, at the 2019 European Banking Congress in Frankfurt, he also highlighted the risks and side effects of a highly expansionary monetary policy. ECB President Christine Lagarde called for increased public investment.

Risks to the stability of Germany’s financial system have continued to build over the course of 2019. “An unexpected economic downturn and abrupt rise in risk premia could hit Germany’s financial system hard,” explained Bundesbank Vice-President Claudia Buch at the press conference on the Financial Stability Review.

On 15 and 16 November, the Bundesbank invited 250 motivated young people to its second Euro20+ event. Under the slogan “Your Europe. Your Future”, the participants came together to discuss key economic and social issues concerning the future of Europe and the euro area.

The German economy saw only marginal growth in the third quarter of 2019. According to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, this persistently weak growth – gross domestic product (GDP) was up by 0.1% on the preceding quarter – was due to the ongoing sluggishness in the export-oriented industrial sector.

The European sustainable finance market is currently undergoing dynamic growth. Bundesbank experts believe that new transparency requirements, more information and clear definitions would give the market an additional boost and provide clarity for investors.

Executive Board member Burkhard Balz introduces the Bundesbank’s new representative in Tokyo. Uwe Nebgen takes over from Gudrun Moede, who headed the representative office in Japan for four years.