Israel's fiscal deficit has risen again for the 17th successive month, after reaching zero in March 2023.
The deficit in a twelve-month period ending in August of this year was 8.3% of GDP, or NIS 161 billion, Finance Ministry Accountant General Yali Rothenberg reported on Tuesday.
The figure for the end of July was 8.1% of GDP, or NIS 155 billion. The deficit thus continues to drift away from the target set by the government in the revised 2024 budget approved last March, of 6.6%.
The Finance Ministry's estimates
The Finance Ministry estimates that the deficit will climb until the end of this month and will then decline somewhat.
This is because the spike in government spending in October last year when the war broke out will drop out of the twelve-month figures. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich estimated last week that his ministry would succeed in bringing the deficit within the 6.6% of GDP target by the end of 2024.