Israeli Economy Continues to Shoot Ahead

The Israeli economy continued to perform well in the the first quarter. Israel’s Gross Domestic Product rose an annualized 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, a threefold increase over the growth rate in the first quarter of 2017. The current increase is in line with those of recent quarters; the fourth quarter of 2017 saw the economy grow 4.4 percent in annualized terms, while the quarter before that saw growth of 4.1 percent.

The increase is attributed to a sharp rise in personal spending, as well as investments in fixed assets by foreign investors. That increase in personal spending was measured at 8-percent more spending per person in the first quarter. The increase is largely due to a sharp increase in the number of cars imported.

Exports were significantly up as well. Exports of goods and services, not including diamonds and services by high-tech firms, were up 11.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 in annualized terms compared to a year earlier. That was a continuation of the growth in the fourth quarter of 2017, which was 12.9 percent higher in annualized terms than a year before that. Imports were up as well – 23.1 percent in annualized terms over a year earlier.

In a social media post, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said that the government was “continuing to work hard in order to grow the economy and expand opportunities for economic advancement to all.”