Israeli Shekels
Israeli ShekelsIsrael news photo

Israel's economy is likely to see an increase of 3.4% this year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which revealed on Monday that Israel's gross domestic product will rise above the NIS 1 trillion mark for the first time. 

Haaretz reports that in preliminary assessments of this year's economic performance, the CBS projects Israel's growth rate will be be higher than years in the past, particularly much higher than the 1.2% growth Israel experienced in 2009, the year following the global financial crisis.

When compared internationally, Israel's financial outlook is even more positive. 

For countries belonging to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), the projected growth is just 1.2%. Euro bloc economies are forecast to contract by 0.6% this year. The year before, average growth for OECD countries was 1.4%, and the euro bloc contracted by 0.5%.

Financial analysts say that Israel's GDP was high in the second quarter, but question whether the economy can maintain that pace.

Consumer spending is a major factor for Israeli growth, as analysts say it will rise 4% after experiencing a sharp rise in the first half of the year. However, a major output boost is also projected since the start of natural gas production at the Tamar field last spring.

The CBS did not say whether its growth projections included or excluded natural gas production, which is having a large impact on GDP. The Bank of Israel estimated in June that the economy would grow this year by 3.8% including natural gas production, and 2.8% without it.