JERUSALEM, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's official Central Bureau of Statistics scaled down on Sunday its economic growth estimates for 2017's second quarter to 2.4 percent, citing a drop in exports.
According to the bureau's initial forecasts, Israel's gross domestic product (GDP) should have grown by 2.7 percent in the second quarter of 2017.
However, a 4.1 percent drop in exports during the second quarter of 2017 led the bureau to update the growth estimation to 2.4 percent. The decrease continues a trend of sluggish export. Export composes some 40 percent of Israel's economic activity.
The lower GDP estimates still mark a positive change after Israel saw a growth of merely 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017.
A recent forcast of Israel's central bank projects that the Israeli economy will grow by 3.4 percent in 2017, a target that looks feasible, according to analysts.
