Bank of Israel: Israel economic performance index down 1.2% in January

Port2port News Service

Exports of services index fell in January by 2.3%. Imports index fell in January by 0.4% following 20% free-fall in December.

The Bank of Israel said on Thursday that the composite State of the Economy Index Israel's economic performance index,
or "S" index, slid 1.2% in January, its sixth straight drop.

In a statement issued by the central bank it noted that "The steep decline in the index this month and declines in the last few months testify to the economy sliding into a recession, whose first signs were seen in the index starting in the last quarter of 2008,".

The worsening state of the economy was seen in the falls in most components of the index, and in an especially sharp fall
in the trade and services revenue index. The index of manufacturing production, though, actually rose slightly.

The January 2009 percent change from prior month was:

Exports of services index fell in January by 2.3%

Exports of goods index was down by 0.9% after a sharp 7.3% drop in December.

Imports index fell in January by 0.4% following 20% free-fall in December.