Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics has published a revised estimate of the growth of Israel’s gross domestic product (GDP) that is somewhat lower than in the first estimate released a month ago.
Last month’s estimate of 2.1 percent growth in the GDP has been reduced to an estimated annual rate of 1.9 percent in the third quarter of this year.
Private consumption per capita dropped by an annualized 4.4 percent in the third quarter, after an annualized 6.9 percent rise in the second quarter. Consumption per capita on housing, fuel, electricity and similar items rose 2.6 percent.
Also in the third quarter, the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents declined by approximately $19 billion (about three percent), to about $618 billion at the end of September, according to the Bank of Israel.
The decline was mainly due to a decline in the balance of assets in the tradable securities portfolio.
Outstanding liabilities to abroad declined by approximately $3 billion (about 1 percent) in the third quarter, to about $472 billion at the end of the quarter. The decline was primarily due to a decline in prices of Israeli securities held by nonresidents, as well as changes in the exchange rate.
Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad declined in the third quarter by approximately $15 billion (about 10 percent), to about $146 billion at the end of the quarter.
The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) declined during the third quarter by about $4 billion (2 percent), to approximately $194 billion at the end of September.
The ratio of gross external debt to GDP declined by one percentage point during the course of the third quarter, to about 29.7 percent at the end of September.
The decline in the debt to GDP ratio in the third quarter reflected a decline of about three percent in the balance of external debt and an increase of about one percent in GDP (in dollar terms).
