JERUSALEM, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 3 percent in the second quarter of this year, the country's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced in a report on Wednesday.
The growth rate is in line with the Bank of Israel's yearly forecast and slightly above the Ministry of Finance's projection of a 2.7 percent economic expansion for the entire year of 2023.
Private consumption saw a year-on-year increase of 1.1 percent during the second quarter. The result, according to Gad Lior, an economy analyst at the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, implies a slowdown in economic activity and lower tax revenue for the government.
"This is evidence of the Israeli consumers' feeling that spending should be reduced during this economically turbulent time," he added.
Israel's total exports of goods and services, excluding diamonds and startups, declined by 4.2 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter, according to the report.
