Israel: Economic activity down marginally in January
In January, the Bank of Israel’s (BoI) Composite State of the Economy Index rose 0.28% on a monthly basis, moderating slightly from December’s downwardly revised 0.30% rise (previously reported: +0.32% month-on-month). Available external-sector data suggested that January’s easing was driven by sharply lower imports of production inputs and consumer goods. Stronger monthly growth of goods exports, however, moderated the deceleration. Moreover, lagging data for December showed weakness in the industrial and services sectors as last year drew to a close.
On an annual basis, growth in the index was stable from December at 3.5%.