Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a visit to the Bundesbank in Frankfurt am Main. Talking to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Executive Board members Burkhard Balz and Sabine Mauderer, he learned more about innovative topics at the central bank, such as the digital euro and artificial intelligence.

Real gross domestic product is likely to have increased again slightly in the first quarter of 2024, according to the April Monthly Report. The somewhat higher level of industrial output and a rise in goods exports are supporting the German economy. Overall, they conclude, there is still no sign of a sustained improvement for the German economy.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel opened the Parallel Beginnings art exhibition, a joint endeavour between the Bundesbank and Harvard University, in Boston. Until 31 May, visitors will be able to see selected works from the Bundesbank’s art collection on display in the art gallery of the Center for European Studies (CES). 

In an interview with Funke Mediengruppe, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel addressed the challenges facing Germany as a business location and what is behind the current weak economic growth. The debt brake was also discussed. In Dr Nagel’s opinion, Germany “could afford to run up somewhat higher deficits during certain phases without jeopardising stability”.

Speaking at a symposium, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said an official farewell to Claudia Buch and Joachim Wuermeling, both of whom had left the Executive Board on 31 December 2023. Claudia Buch had been Vice-President of the Bundesbank since 2014 and Joachim Wuermeling had been an Executive Board member since 2016. 

Real gross domestic product will probably decline again slightly in the first quarter of 2024, according to the March Monthly Report. The economy continues to experience headwinds from various directions. Domestic and foreign demand for German industrial products went down further. In addition, higher financing costs dampened domestic demand. Moreover, the available survey indicators still provide little evidence of an economic recovery for the coming quarter. 

Recent decades have seen the rate of firm entries and exits decline in the large euro area countries. This could explain the persistent weakness of euro area productivity. As shown in the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, there are cyclical and structural reasons for the weak business dynamism – including demographic change and high levels of bureaucracy. The Bundesbank’s experts demonstrate that improving institutional and regulatory frameworks can help strengthen business dynamics and thus also productivity growth.

Last year, the Bundesbank’s annual accounts were shaped by the increase in the key interest rates. For the 2023 financial year, the Bundesbank reports a balanced financial result because it was able to use its financial buffers to cushion burdens in the double-digit billions. To this end, the Bundesbank released its risk provisions in full and reduced its reserves. We expect the burdens to be considerable again for the current year. They are likely to exceed the remaining reserves, said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel at the press conference presenting the Bundesbank’s annual accounts

House prices in Germany fell significantly in 2023, according to the Bundesbank’s current Monthly Report. Residential properties were no longer affordable for many people owing to high inflation and increased interest rates. Demand for housing declined, increasingly shifting to the rental market, and the already high inflation in rents saw a significant further acceleration, the economists write. Overvaluations in the real estate market came down in 2023, but were not fully eliminated. The authors therefore believe that there is still a certain risk of price corrections.

German economic output contracted in the final quarter of 2023, according to the February Monthly Report. Weak demand from abroad was still putting a strain on industry, while higher financing costs continued to dampen investment. Bundesbank economists believe that uncertainty about transformation and climate policy is also likely to have weighed on economic activity. Some headwinds will probably persist into the first quarter of 2024 as well. Economic output could therefore decline again somewhat.