Israel to release third quarter GDP growth rate
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics is expected to release the country’s 2020 third quarter (Q3) GDP growth rate today.
Experts predict an 8.6% expansion of the economy from July to September, equating to an annualised 38.9% increase. The Israeli economy contracted significantly in the first half of 2020, with an annualised contraction of 29.2% in Q2 alone. The Bank of Israel expects a total contraction of 6.5% in 2020 owing to slowdowns in consumption and manufacturing, exacerbated by on-and-off lockdowns due to an erratic government response to the public health crisis.
Although 2020 ended in contraction, 2021 will likely be a bumper year for Israeli output. Universal healthcare, a positive public response to vaccination efforts and early strategic vaccine purchasing deals with Pfizer and Moderna have led Israel to have the best start to the global vaccination effort with 25.4% of the population already inoculated. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that this pace of vaccination means that all lockdowns will completely end by March. As Israel continues to work on normalisation of regional relations and peace deals, this summer could see an open, flourishing, vaccinated economy. However, total recovery may be delayed due to a slower global vaccination rollout hampering global market stabilisation.
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