An analysis of future economic developments is indispensible for deciding on the monetary policy stance and assessing economic policy decisions. The Bundesbank therefore regularly prepares extensive forecasts of important economic metrics for Germany.

Alongside consumer prices and other price indices, it forecasts gross domestic product and its components, employment and unemployment, and trends in public finances in particular. These forecasts are not only used to prepare monetary policy decisions; they are, moreover, – alongside the forecasts produced by the other national central banks – an integral component of the projections that the Eurosystem experts draw up for the euro area. In turn, the ECB’s Governing Council draws on the results of these projections when assessing economic developments and risks to price stability.

The Bundesbank’s forecasts are published in June and December of each year.