Secondly, the disequilibrium in overall domestic real economic activity affected developments in the current account of the balance of payments over this period. In value terms, total imports of merchandise rose by about 28 per cent during each of 1994 and 1995, whereas exports of merchandise increased by only 3 per cent in 1994 and by 16 per cent in 1995.
It’s our belief that we have a lot of political support in Europe. Our policies are dictated by decades of monetary thinking and best central bank practices. The Deutsche Bundesbank has been the champion of this thinking and these practices. Central bank independence and low and steady inflation are written into the German founding law.