Thus, labour market reforms will help us to fully reap the benefits of the integration of our euro area, with its one-sixth share of world GDP. As I have explained, the introduction of the euro has had many healthy effects on the German economy. On the one hand, Germany is profiting to a considerable extent from the integration of financial markets.
The yen for its part was boosted by falling policy interest rates worldwide and rising financial volatility. Combined, these factors led to a massive unwinding of the carry trade positions that had been established in the low-volatility environment before the summer of 2007.