JERUSALEM Israel’s economy contracted by an annualised 28.7% in the second quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, with the coronavirus pandemic harming consumer spending, trade and investment.
Preliminary data showed the contraction in gross domestic product for the April-June period over the prior three months was steeper than the -22% analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
A contraction of as much as 6% is projected in 2020, which would be the first annual contraction in Israel’s history.
In the second quarter, exports fell 29.2%, while private spending slid 43.4%, imports dropped 41.7% and investment in fixed assets was down 31.6% — with residential building declining by 41.6%.
The lone bright spot for the economy was a 25.2% jump in government spending.
First-quarter GDP was revised to an annualised contraction of 6.8% from a decline of 6.9%.
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