Economics
Consumers Drive Israel’s Surprisingly Fast Expansion in 2019
- 4Q growth of 4.8% driven by uptick in automobile imports
- Netanyahu focusing on pocketbook issues before March 2 vote
Customers dine at a food court inside the Dizingoff Center shopping mall in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Robust private consumption and investment quickened Israel’s economic growth last year, delivering good news for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he pivots to pocketbook issues ahead of a crucial election.
Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted, annualized 4.8% last quarter, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the fastest quarterly rate in two years. That pushed expansion for the year to 3.5%, narrowly topping 2018 and defying predictions that growth would moderate as an unending election cycle mired the country in political turmoil.