According to statistical analysis made by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and released last Tuesday, the annualized growth rate in the first quarter of 2005 stood at 2.9%, a sharp decline from the 4.4% rise reported in the previous quarter.
The CBS also revealed that production figures rose in the last quarter by only 3.5%, compared to a 6.6% increase the previous quarter and a 4.8% in the third quarter of 2004. Import of goods and services (with the exception of military imports) remained, according to the report, unchanged, compared to a 5.5 percent increase in the previous quarter.
Per capita private expenditure declined, last quarter, by a 0.7% annualized rate. The drop mostly stems from a sharp, 42.2% decline in the purchase of vehicles for personal use.
The CBS noted ,however, that the Israeli tourism industry saw the largest export increase of 69.8%.
