The Ministry of Finance said that as of the end of August the budget deficit over the past 12 months widened to 8.1% of GDP from 7.2% at the end of July.
Israel's budget deficit has widened to NIS 110 billion or 8.1% of GDP for the 12 months ending August 31, 2020, the Ministry of Finance reports, up from 7.2% at the end of July, 6.4% at the end of June and 6% at the end of May. The deficit has continued widening since the coronavirus crisis took hold - from 4.8% at the end of April, 4% at the end of March and 3.1% at the end of February.
Estimates are that by the end of 2020, the deficit could reach between 10% and 11%.
During August the government injected NIS 14 billion into the economy in various aid programs and since the start of the crisis NIS 34.5 billion has been injected, well below the government target of NIS 49 billion by the end of August.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 6, 2020 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020
Yisrael Katz Photo; ASAP Creative Shutterstock