The Bank of Israel's state-of-the-economy index - or "S" - index rose 0.1% in December, indicating the economy continues to expand moderately, the Bank of Israel said last week.
In a press release the Bank of Israel noted that "The index's growth rate has been stable in recent months but the pace has moderated from the rate at the start of the year,". The Bank of Israel add that for all of 2012, the index rose an average of 2.5%, slowing down from 4.4% in 2011.
The Bank of Israel emphasized that the slower growth pace of the index was consistent with slower economic growth in 2012 and consistent with a slowdown in the growth of business gross domestic products from 5.1% in 2011 to 3.2% in 2012.
Israel's economy grew an estimated 3.3% in 2012 after a 4.6% spurt in 2011.
Growth is forecast for below 3% in 2013, excluding natural gas production.
