• In the second quarter of 2019, the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents increased by about $8.2 billion (1.8 percent) to about $465 billion at the end of June. The increase was mostly due to increases in the prices of foreign securities held by Israelis and the positive flow of direct investments and other investments by Israelis abroad.
  • Outstanding liabilities to abroad declined by approximately $2.3 billion (0.7 percent) in the second quarter, to about $318 billion at the end of June. Most of the decline was due to declines in the prices of Israeli equities, while the flow of direct investments in Israel by nonresidents offset this decline slightly.
  • Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad increased by approximately $10.5 billion (7.7 percent) in the second quarter, to about $146 billion at the end of June, as a result of an increase in outstanding assets and a decline in outstanding liabilities.
  • The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) increased by $3.0 billion during the second quarter, to about approximately $162 billion at the end of June.
  • The ratio of gross external debt to GDP declined by about 0.2 percentage points during the course of the second quarter, to 26.0 percent at the end of June. The decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio reflected a rate of increase in the balance of gross external debt that was smaller than the rate of increase in GDP.

         Graphs and data​