Yesterday, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann talked down risks of recession in Germany, as he spoke in a business forum. He said “given excellent labor market conditions and rising incomes, I expect private consumption in Germany to overcome its weakness”. And, there were “early signs of this already as the retail sector recorded strong growth in the first quarter.”
On ECB monetary policy, Weidmann said “the task of monetary policy is to ensure price stability… This means reacting to the weak domestic price pressures but also continuing on the path of policy normalization and not postponing unnecessarily if the inflation outlook permits it.”
