The consumer price index in Israel increased in May 2023 by 0.2%. In the last twelve months, the index rose by 4.6%, which indicates a moderation in the rate of inflation.
This figure is significantly below expectations for the months in question.
Notable price increases were seen in fresh fruit, which increased prices by 11.0%, culture and entertainment by 1.1% and housing by 0.5%.
Notable price decreases were seen in fresh vegetables, which decreased by 2.9%, furniture and household equipment, and clothing and footwear, which decreased by 0.8% each.
The rent index increased by 0.4%. It should be noted that tenants renewing a lease saw an increase of 3.6%, and tenants taking out a new lease saw an increase of 8.6%.
The residential construction price index decreased by 0.1% in the month of May 2023. In the last 12 months, the residential construction price index increased by 2.5% mainly due to the 4.2% increase in the prices of materials and products and the 1.4% increase in labor wages.
Among the materials and products, the prices of iron and metal products fell by 1.9% and imported concrete by 0.7%. On the other hand, the prices of concrete blocks, autoclaved aerated concrete and gypsum concrete increased by 2.6% and fire extinguishing equipment by 1.7%.
The prices of refined petroleum products decreased by 5.1%, clothing products by 1.8%, furniture by 1.3%, chemicals by 1.2% and basic metals by 1.0% this month. On the other hand, the prices of other means of transport and transportation increased by 1.2%.
In the first quarter of 2023, the prices of management consulting services increased by 6.0%, advertising services by 2.9%, employment services by 2.9%, accounting services by 1.4% and legal services by 1.4%.
From comparing of the prices of the transactions carried out in the months of March - April 2023 to the prices of the transactions carried out in the months of February - March 2023, it was found that the prices of the apartments decreased by 0.2%. Segmented by district, the following price changes were as follows: Jerusalem remained unchanged, North -1.3%, Haifa +0.2%, Central -1.9%, Tel Aviv +1.3% and South +1.4%.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented: "These encouraging data are due to the responsible policy we are leading, but there is still a lot of work to do and we will continue to work with all our might to lower the cost of living and jumpstart Israel's economy."