Israel GDP forecast to grow 3.5% in 2012
2012-09-11 16:43:51
Israel GDP is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2012, after growing by 4.6% in 2011 and 5% in 2012, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today in its "Selected Data from the New Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012". Business product will fall to 3.4% in 2012 from 5.1% in 2011.
Israel's GDP growth is well above the 1.6% OECD average, not to mention the 0.1% contraction expected for the eurozone this year.
The growth in private consumption will slow to 2.8% in 2012 from 3.8% in 2011, due to the slump in consumption of durable goods, including cars. More worrying is the slowing in private consumption per capita (the standard of living) to 1% growth in 2012, with a drop of over 7% in private consumption per capita of durable goods.
Growth in investment will slow to 2% in 2012 from over 17% in 2011, and growth in residential construction will slow to 5% from 12.5%. Export growth is projected to rise by 6.3%, despite the crisis in the EU and the slowdown in the US, Israel's two main export partners. Industrial exports are projected to grow by 7%, despite a 35% plunge in diamond exports and a 0.5% drop in tourism services.
The Central Bureau of Statistics' growth forecast for 2012 is higher than the revised forecasts by the Bank of Israel of 3.1% and the Ministry of Finance of 3.2%.