On March 6 2022, Israel’s cabinet approved plans to shut down Haifa’s oil refineries and petrochemical plants, representing two-thirds of Israel’s capacity. The decision by Israel’s cabinet is the first planned dismantling of an industrial zone in the country and stems from a 2021 report on pollution. The report, composed by an inter-ministerial

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• We forecast real household spending in Israel to post growth of 3.5% over 2022, down from the high base of 8.3% in 2021 as favourable base effects wear off.
• Retail sales and consumer confidence in the country are rising as Covid-related restrictions are eased. This is being supported by Israel's vaccination drive, which had fully

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• We forecast that Israel’s current account surplus will widen from 0.7% of GDP in 2021 to 1.6% of GDP in 2022. Strong demand for Israel’s tech and pharma exports, growth in gas exports and an acceleration in IT and Business services will drive the improvement in Israel’s external position.
• While admittedly the country’s current

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• At Fitch Solutions, we expect consumer spending growth to decelerate in Israel in 2022. We forecast real household spending to expand by 3.5% in 2022, down from 8.3% in 2021.
• We believe that convenience is a key theme in Israel's post-pandemic recovery, driven by more people joining the labour force, the adoption hybrid working

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• We forecast real household spending in Israel to begin to recover over 2021, growing by 8.3%, up from an estimated contraction of 9.4% over 2020.
• As Israeli consumers continue to face headwinds stemming from the spread of the Delta variant, which has led to more stringent restrictions, we believe that the consumer spending recovery

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• We forecast real household spending in Israel to recover over 2021, growing by a projected 4.8% y-o-y. We do note that the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic did create a significantly low base from which to grow. We estimate that household spending contracted by 9.4% over 2020.
• The Israeli government has lifted virtually all

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• At Fitch Solutions, we are maintaining our 2021 real GDP growth forecast at 4.8%, following a 2.5% contraction in 2020.
• The lifting of movement restrictions and supportive fiscal policy will drive strong growth in private consumption and fixed investment.
• In 2022, sustained support by the Bank of Israel will lead a to full recovery

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• Israel's digital payments market has gained considerable momentum so far in 2021 and is set to grow further with Google's announcement to roll out Google Pay in the next quarter.
• Israel's population includes a high proportion of bank users, creating a sizeable market on which to leverage fintech applications.
• Google's announcement

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• Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) has announced it will carry out a 5G spectrum auction at the end of 2021, granting operators sufficient resources to offer higher-value 5G services.
• Telcos will be better positioned to develop new use cases for 5G, tapping into the enterprise segment to offset falling revenues in the low