•  In the first quarter of 2017, Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad increased by about $7.1 billion (about 6.5 percent), further to an increase of about $41 billion (59.5 percent) in 2016. Most of the increase in the surplus during the first quarter of 2017 is a result of an increase in the balance of Israelis’ financial investments abroad and an increase in reserve assets.
  • The increase in the value of the portfolio of Israelis’ assets held abroad in the first quarter ($15.4 billion, 4.1 percent) was a result of the flow of financial investments ($4 billion, 1 percent) and an increase in the prices of foreign shares ($2.9 billion, 0.8 percent).
  • The increase in the gross balance of liabilities to abroad in the first quarter ($8.3 billion, 3.1 percent) derived mainly from the flow of financial investments in bonds ($1.6 billion, 0.6 percent) and direct investments in shares ($1.3 billion, 0.5 percent), in parallel with an increase in the prices of Israeli shares held by nonresidents ($3.8 billion, 1.4 percent).
  • The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) increased in the first quarter of 2017 by about $6.3 billion (4.7 percent), to about $140 billion at the end of the quarter.
  • The gross external debt to GDP ratio declined in the first quarter, to 26.5 percent at the end of March, the result of a decline in the shekel value of gross external debt as a result of the appreciation of the shekel, in parallel with an increase in GDP.​
       

        Graphs and data​