Israel’s economy shrank more than previously thought in the fourth quarter, with consumer spending, exports and investment hurt badly by the war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The economy contracted an annualised 20.7% in the final three months of 2023 over the third quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday in its second estimate after a 19.4% decline in its preliminary estimate.
For all of 2023, the economy grew 2.0%, unrevised and compared with 6.5% in 2022.
The war has raged since Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack on southern Israel.
The revised fourth-quarter figure stems from slightly steeper declines in exports, private spending and investment in fixed assets, while government spending grew a bit less than previously estimated.
