Israel's exports dropped in October for the first time in five years, and the trade deficit increased by $1.8 billion. Exports, excluding diamonds, fell 3.4 percent at an annualized rate while imports increased by 2.8 percent.
The total trade deficit for the year is expected to reach $17 billion compared with only $10.2 billion the year before. One of the factors behind the slowdown in exports is the shekel-dollar rate, which until recently was as low as 3.30, making Israeli products more expensive for overseas importers who pay in foreign currency.