Israel: Economic activity broadly stable in December
In December, the Bank of Israel’s (BoI) Composite State of the Economy Index rose 0.32% on a month-on-month basis, moderating slightly from November’s revised 0.33% rise (previously reported: +0.25% month-on-month). Available external-sector data suggested that December’s increase was driven largely by stronger imports of consumer goods and production inputs, which were offset by weaker goods exports. Moreover, lagging data for November showed gains in the industrial and services sectors in the month.
On an annual basis, growth in the index was stable from a month earlier at 3.3% in December, following a revision to November’s result (previously reported: +3.1% year-on-year).