JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s economy contracted a less than expected 2.4% in 2020, with the coronavirus pandemic weighing on consumer spending, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday in a preliminary estimate.
The economy, which grew 3.4% in 2019, had been expected to shrink more than 3% in 2020 due to the virus.
Despite a third lockdown, the economy grew an annualised 6.3% in the fourth quarter after a 41.5% jump in the third quarter.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer)
