Israel's gross external debt rose by $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2000 and reached $59.2 billion, an increase of 2.7%. The figures are from Bank of Israel data. Since 1998, Israel's gross external debt has risen by $8.5 billion, constituting a 16.7% rise.
Only 36.8% of the total external debt is short-term (up to one year). Returning this debt imposes only a light annual burden on the Israeli economy, and greatly reduces the risk of a crisis in this area. The remaining 63.2% of the total debt is long-term. Most of the debt is dollar-denominated.
At the same time, Israel's total net external debt (net of overseas assets) has fallen by $1.17 billion since the beginning of the year, totaling $9.3 billion at the end of March, an 11% drop. This continues the five-year downward trend in net debt balances. Since the beginning of 1998, Israel's net external debt has fallen by $5.6 billion, a 32% drop.
The fall in net external debt is due mainly to a rise in overseas assets. These totaled $49.9 billion at the end of March - a $2.7 billion rise, constituting 5.7%, within three months.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on June 7, 2000