Israel's balance of payments reached a current account surplus of nearly $5 billion dollars in 2007, following an $8.5 billion surplus in 2006, and a $4.3 billion surplus in 2005. The current account balance includes imports and exports of goods and services, income, and transfers.
There was a marked 19.1% increase in imports of goods and services, which rose to $73.7 billion from $61.9 billion in 2006. Exports of goods and services rose 13.4% to $71.4 billion from $63 billion in 2006. For 2007, imports of goods were more than $5.5 billion higher than exports, while services exports outweighed services imports by $3.1 billion.
The Central Bureau of Statistics attributed the import and export sums to fluctuations in the dollar's value relative to other currencies as well as the increased cost of raw materials worldwide.
Tourism services export figures rose 26% in 2007 representing the increase in the number of tourists who arrived in Israel during the year.
There has also been a marked increase in recent years in direct investment, both outward and inward bound. The years 2006 and 2007 had the most direct investment in Israel's history, in current dollars. Foreign direct investment in 2007 reached $10.3 billion, and accounted for 75.5% of all foreign investment in the country during the year. Direct investment overseas, by Israelis, reached $7.1 billion, down from $15 billion the previous year. Foreigners also invested $270 million in Israeli securities, a sharp drop from $8.8 billion in 2006. The figures were impacted by bond sales by foreign investors, which reached $2.1 billion in 2007, compared with 2006 when foreign investors bought fixed income securities.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 6, 2008
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