The State of the Economy Index rose 0.3% in January 2008, the Bank of Israel reports. The Bank of Israel also revised downward the indices for November 2007 from 1.1% to 0.7% and for December from 1.2% to 0.4%. It attributed the downward revision to "the volatility in the indices of foreign trade in goods and services."
The Bank of Israel noted that January's increase in the index indicates "continued increase in economic activity, but at a more modest rate than in previous months." It added that the increase was led by the rise in manufacturing production and the index of trade and services revenue, which was offset by foreign trade in goods and services.
A breakdown of the State of the Economy Index's components was as follows: manufacturing production rose by 0.7% in December, after falling by the same amount in November; trade and services revenue rose by 0.5% in December, after rising by 0.9% in November; export of services fell 7.4%, in January by, after rising 13.1% in December, export of goods fell by 2.2% in January, after rising 2.9% in December, and the imports index fell by 2.1% in January, after rising 3.1% in December.
The Bank of Israel notes that in calculating the composite index, changes in its components (seasonally adjusted), in both the current month and previous months with a lag, are taken into consideration.
The State of the Economy Index rose by 7.3% in 2007 as a whole, completing five years of continuous growth. The index rose by 7.4% in 2006, 6.6% in 2005, 8.4% in 2004, and 2.9% in 2003. The index fell in the 2001-02.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 20, 2008
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