Israel swings to balance of payments surplus

Israel swung to a $848 million balance of payments surplus in the third quarter, after a $642 million deficit in the preceding quarter.

Israel swung to a balance of payments surplus of $800 million in the third quarter of 2012, after a $642 million deficit in the preceding quarter and $1.3 billion deficit in the first quarter, in seasonally adjusted figures, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The swing to a surplus was due to a reduction in primary income from $2.38 billion in the second quarter to $1.6 billion in the third quarter and a reduction in the balance of trade deficit from $2.55 billion to $1.97 billion.

Israel had a balance of goods and services surplus of $360 million in the third quarter compared with a deficit of $322 million in the second quarter.

Direct foreign investment totaled $7.5 billion in January-September, following investment of $11.4 billion in 2011. Israelis' investment in foreign securities rose by $4.5 billion, but foreign investment in Israeli securities fell by $2.7 billion.

Export of goods and services totaled $22.55 billion in the third quarter and imports of goods and services was $22.2 billion, 4.6% less than in the preceding quarter.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 16, 2012

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012

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