#5 For Griter Slash 1619, key bits from the Times of Israel:
War-battered economy plunged almost 20%, marking sharpest contraction since pandemic
With the outbreak of the war, private consumption and investments dropped sharply, while government spending soared amid massive reservist callup and wide population displacements.
Though the war is ongoing, many reservists have returned home and economic activity has begun to recover as rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli cities has trailed off, though only some of that gradual recovery is reflected in the new numbers.
“To a large extent, the current GDP figure, which is an initial estimate, is based on data from the beginning of the quarter, that is October to November data,” said Yonie Fanning, chief strategist at Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank. “The level of local activity continued to recover in December, with the decline in rocket attacks raining on the country.”
“We will see this reflected significantly in the update of the local GDP figures, next month, as more data comes on,” Fanning added.
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