Israel's Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% in August, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported this evening. The reading was below analysts' expectations of an unchanged CPI last month, or even a slight rise. The CPI rose 0.1% in July after rising 0.3% in June and 0.1% in May but is unchanged over the past 12 months, well below the government's 1-3% inflation target range.
The notable falls were in prices of clothing (6.9%), footwear (3.6%), Internet services (3.6%), and fuel (2.7%). There were notable rises in prices of fresh fruit (5.3%) and leisure and tourism (11.4%).
Without the housing CPI index, the general CPI index would have fallen 0.7% in August.
At the end of August, the Bank of Israel lowered the interest rate to an all-time low of 0.25%, mainly because inflation in Israel is below the bottom of the government's target range.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2014
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