The Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday that the Israeli economy grew by an annualized 2.7% in the first quarter of 2012, failing to reach the projected 3%.
The new figures prompted the CBS to revised its gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for Q1-2012 downwards to an annualized 2.7%, compared with 2.9% in its second reading and 3.1% its original estimate.
The revision is the second within one-month\’s time.
According to the CBS, Israel\’s growth rate has been slipping steadily since an unprecedented annualized growth rate of 7.2% was reached in Q4-2010.
The Central Bureau of Statistics also reported a slowdown in exports, imports, consumption, and investments.
According to the data, May-June 2012 saw the sharpest drop in exports of Israeli goods since the beginning of 2009, as exports of goods excluding diamonds dropped by 7.7% compared to March-April 2012, totaling some $7.5 billion.
Business product growth dropped to an annualized 2.2%; private consumption per capita added 2.1% and investment in residential construction added 10.5% in the first quarter of 2012.