Q1 economic growth below estimates
Central Bureau of Statistics reports 3.4% economic growth in first quarter of 2010, as opposed to 3.6% prior estimate. Bank of Israel projects 3.7% growth for entire year
Israel's economy grew an annualized 3.4% in the first quarter of 2010, slower than a prior estimate of 3.6% due to lower export growth, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.
The bureau also revised fourth-quarter 2009 gross domestic product growth down to 4.4% from 4.5%. Third-quarter GDP growth remained at 3.9%.
For all of 2010, the Bank of Israel projected a growth of 3.7%, a touch higher than the Finance Ministry's forecast of 3.6%.
In the first three months of the year, growth was fueled by a 4.4% rise in consumer spending, a 4.1% increase in public spending and a 3.1% rise in exports of goods and services.
Exports, some 40-45% of Israel's economic activity, had previously been reported to have risen 7.4% in the first quarter.
Imports grew 24% in the first quarter while investment in fixed assets rose 1.3%.
Excluding public spending, GDP rose 4.4% in the January-March period.
Israel's rapid recovery had prompted the Bank of Israel to raise its key short term borrowing rate by one percentage point since August to 1.5%, the last move a quarter-point hike on March 28.
Since then policymakers have cautioned over the pace of the recovery due to weakness in Europe and have left rates unchanged the past three months.
The statistics bureau is slated to issue preliminary second-quarter GDP data on August 16.
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