As part of its efforts to increase transparency to those using economic data, the Bank of Israel is today publishing a “dashboard” containing rapid indicators of economic activity. Some of these indicators were already being published during the COVID-19 crisis, and others were added to the new dashboard. The aim is to show an integrative and up-to-date picture of economic data from various fields on one screen, in an advanced and modern display.
The dashboard presents up-to-date data (daily and monthly) in three areas of economic activity: the real economy – indices in the areas of the labor market, mobility, credit card activity, and more; the financial and foreign exchange markets – stock indices, yield spreads, exchange rates; and the credit market – housing and nonhousing credit balances and interest rates, credit restrictions by business size, and more.
The data on the dashboard will be updated according to their natural frequency, and will rotate dynamically from time to time in accordance with economic developments. In addition, they will include links to more details Excel files. The dashboard display is a first example of the visually dynamic way in which economic and statistical data will be presented on the new website that the Bank of Israel is currently developing.
Dr, Eyal Rozen, Director of the Bank of Israel’s Information and Statistics Department, said: “During the COVID-19 crisis, the Bank of Israel acted in a way that differed from normal in regard to the collection and accessibility of information. It had to present a picture to policy makers that was far more up-to-date than the regular frequency, which created an opportunity to develop cooperative relationships in order to receive new and rapid relevant information from various sources. Some of this important information was presented to the public during the crisis, and we have now completed the process of making its more broadly accessible.”
Lior Georgi, Director of the Bank of Israel’s Information Technology Department, said: “The technological effort to make information accessible on various platforms has born fruit. We had to bring together information regarding the crisis, on one platform, and integrate the relevant data. The dashboard that is being launched today is technologically friendly, and helps interested parties make broad, informed use of the data.”
The dashboard (in Hebrew) can be seen at https://bankipedia.boi.org.il/dashboard.