The Central Bureau of Statistics ( CBS ) reported last week that Israel's terms of trade deteriorated by a further 1.7% in the third quarter of 2004, following 1% deterioration in the second of 2004.
The CBS reported that the rapid rise in the prices of imports continued, due to the strengthening of the European currency .
Analysis of the trend show that the prices of imports rose by almost 2% during the third quarter, after rising by a cumulative 15.7% between the second quarter of 2003 and the second quarter of 2004. In contrast, exporters' profits rose by only 0.3% in the third quarter, after rising by almost 10.1% in the four preceding quarters.
Prices of industrial exports, excluding diamonds, rose by 1.5% in the third quarter, after rising by a cumulative 4% in the three preceding quarters.
