Israeli Major economic indicators keep falling

Moti Bassok

The recession is getting deeper, according to data released yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Industrial production declined 2% in annual terms in April and May this year compared to the corresponding period last year, and exports fell 14%.

Data published last week by the CBS for the first quarter of 2003 were positive, but even then it was clear that this was only temporary and that the economy is still in dire straits. The figures released yesterday confirm this assumption.

Industrial production, one of the engines of any potential economic recovery, continued to fall in April and May after dropping 3% in March and 1% in January and in February.

The big decrease in exports (excluding diamonds) in May and June - 14% in annual terms - follows a decline of 12% in April and 7% in March. Imports grew by 10% in June after a 12% climb in April and May, and an 11% rise in March.

The trade deficit (the difference between imports and exports) totaled $282.5 million in June, which works out to $3.4 billion in annual terms.

Retail sales were unchanged in April and May, after drops of 3-5% a month in the first three months of the year. Sales in retail chains, which account for one quarter of the retail sector, went up 5% in June after 4% climbs in each of the four months before.

The CPI fell 3.5% in June after a 4.6% drop in May and 3.5% fall in April.

The number of overnight stays by tourists in Israel was 205,000 in June, 80% below the peak of September 2000, when around 1 million overnight stays were recorded.

The Marker.com