Israel's Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3% in April, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported this afternoon. The fall was not as steep as expected with analysts forecasting a 0.5% drop in the CPI.
Housing prices continue to climb and have risen 4.2% over the past 12 months.
The CPI was influenced by the fact that large sectors of the economy were completely shut down during April because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the past 12 months, the CPI has fallen 0.6%.
In April, there were notable falls in prices of transport (3.3%), and rises in fruit and vegetables (4.8%), clothing (3.1%) and food (0.7%).
Housing prices (which do not form part of the CPI) have continued to rise. In comparison with transaction prices in the period January-February 2020, prices in February-March 2020 were 0.6% higher, and they were 4.2% higher than in the corresponding period twelve months earlier (February-March 2019). But this period is before the impact of the coronavirus from mid-March.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 15, 2020
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