First quarter growth figures revised upwards

• Date: 18 July 2021
• Published date: 18 July 2021
• Publication title: Globes (Rishon LeZion, Israel)

The items that contributed to the upward revision in the growth rate for the first quarter were private consumption (the annualized decline in which was revised from 3.4% to 2.4%. Excluding consumer durables, private consumption rose by an annualized 8.2%, according to the revised estimate, which compares with a rise of 7% in the previous estimate. Private consumption per capita fell at an annual rate of 3.8% in the revised estimate, which compares with 4.2% in the previous estimate.

The decline in investment in fixed assets was revised from an annual rate of 16% to 13.8%.

The decline in GDP in the first quarter of the year is not an indication of the trend that can be expected for the rest of the year, but it is worth recalling that the Bank of Israel lowered its growth forecast for 2021 to 5.5% when it made its interest rate...