The Israeli economy grew at an annual rate of 1.4% in the first quarter of 2017, according to the third revised estimate published today by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The original estimate for the quarter, published in May was also 1.4%, on an annualized basis, but last month this figure was revised down to 1.2%. The revised growth figures for the third and fourth quarters of 2016, which were 4.1% and 4.7%, respectively.
Growth in the first quarter was affected by a steep annualized plunge in vehicle purchases. The Central Bureau of Statistics said today that excluding the effect of vehicle imports, GDP grew 3.3% at an annualized rate in the first quarter.
Last week, the Bank of Israel raised its growth forecast for 2017 from 2.8% to 3.4% following data which indicated that growth had speeded up in the second quarter of 2017.
An encouraging statistic regarding the first quarter was a 9.7% rise in exports of goods and services, while on the negative side private consumption fell 1.1% and investments in fixed assets fell 3.4% - both as a result of the sharp fall in car imports.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 16, 2017
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