Bundesbank chief calls for higher growth rates – MarketScreener

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany urgently needs to increase its economic growth, said Joachim Nagel, head of the German Central Bank.

He said on Tuesday in Berlin that Germany is “not the sick man of Europe” at the moment. But if there are no higher growth rates, the country's economy may end up in a state that can be described as sick.

Europe's largest economy is going through a period of weak growth. In the industrial sector there is a somewhat weaker trend. But sentiment indicators improved. Inbound orders also developed relatively strongly. The service sector is a thriving field. “The picture is not only not rosy in 2024, but it is also not as bad as some make it out to be,” Nagel said. He is confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

According to the German Bundesbank, GDP is likely to have “increased slightly” in the first quarter after shrinking by 0.3 percent at the end of 2023. This forecast is supported by a somewhat recent rise in industrial production, which was also supported by increased exports. Commodities, according to the German Central Bank in its latest monthly report.

(Reporting by Reinhard Becker; Editing by Hans Bosmann; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and economics) or [email protected] (for businesses and markets))