According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in the second quarter as exports plunged.
According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the 1.7% annualized increase of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from April to June showed a marked decline in growth from 2.5% the previous quarter and 2.8% before that.
All in all, the economy grew at an annualized 2.5% in the first half of the year. The main drag on the economy was a 17.7% annualized drop in service exports, and a 4.5% slump in fixed investment. Private consumption was up 3.1% and public spending also increased 4.2%.
While the second quarter figures were disappointing, it is the third quarter data that will reflect the lion’s share of the cost of the war with Hamas in Gaza, which began in July and will lop another estimated 0.5% off annual GDP growth.
