- In the fourth quarter of 2018, the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents declined by about $8.7 billion (2 percent) to about $438 billion at the end of December. The decline was mostly due to declines in the prices of foreign equities held by Israelis in the tradable securities portfolio.
- Outstanding liabilities to abroad declined by approximately $14.5 billion (4.6 percent) in the fourth quarter, to about $304 billion at the end of December. Most of the decline was due to the sharp declines in the prices of Israeli equities (direct and in the tradable portfolio) and net realizations of equities in the tradable portfolio.
- The ratio of gross external debt to GDP declined during the course of the fourth quarter by about 0.2 percentage points, to 24.9 percent at the end of December. The stability in the debt-to-GDP ratio reflected a decline in the balance of gross external debt that was similar to the decline in GDP in dollar terms.
- Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad increased in the fourth quarter by approximately $5.8 billion (4.5 percent), to about $133 billion at the end of December, as a result of a decline in outstanding liabilities that was larger than the decline in outstanding assets.
- The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) was unchanged during the fourth quarter, and remained at approximately $158 billion at the end of December.
Full press release
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