Israel's fiscal deficit shot up to NIS 151.3 billion in November, 11.1% of GDP, the Ministry of Finance reported today. The figures relate to the twelve months to the end of November. They are not surprising; according to the Ministry of Finance's projections, the deficit will reach 13% for 2020.
The Ministry of Finance has spent NIS 59.4 billion on aid to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, out of a total of NIS 101.4 billion injected into the economy from various sources, the main one besides the Ministry of Finance being the banks, through credit to businesses.
In November alone, the Ministry spent NIS 8.2 billion on coronavirus-related aid, slightly more than in the two previous months (NIS 7.8 billion in October and NIS 7.5 billion in September). Still, for 2020 as a whole the ministry was due to inject some NIS 82 billion through aid budgets, so that it is already clear that, at the end of the year, NIS 10-15 billion will remain undistributed.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 6, 2020
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