Israel Trade Deficit Hits Record High in August

2026-09-14 10:36 By Mariene Camarillo 1 min. read

Israel’s trade deficit widened sharply to USD 5.8 billion in August 2026 from USD 3.4 billion in the same month a year earlier.

This marked the largest deficit on record, as import growth far outpaced exports.

Imports surged 40.9% year-on-year to USD 11.1 billion, driven by higher purchases of fuels (+172.6%), investment goods (+68.1%), consumer goods (+29.4%), and raw materials (+24.1%).

Meanwhile, exports rose 19.3% to USD 5.3 billion, driven largely by increased shipments of manufactured, mining, and quarrying products excluding diamonds (+23.9%), which more than offset declines in wholesale diamond shipments (-77.7%) and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-9.5%).

In the January–August period, the trade deficit expanded by 32.6% to USD 34.1 billion from USD 25.7 billion in the same period last year.



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Israel Trade Deficit Hits Record High in August
Israel’s trade deficit widened sharply to USD 5.8 billion in August 2026 from USD 3.4 billion in the same month a year earlier. This marked the largest deficit on record, as import growth far outpaced exports. Imports surged 40.9% year-on-year to USD 11.1 billion, driven by higher purchases of fuels (+172.6%), investment goods (+68.1%), consumer goods (+29.4%), and raw materials (+24.1%). Meanwhile, exports rose 19.3% to USD 5.3 billion, driven largely by increased shipments of manufactured, mining, and quarrying products excluding diamonds (+23.9%), which more than offset declines in wholesale diamond shipments (-77.7%) and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-9.5%). In the January–August period, the trade deficit expanded by 32.6% to USD 34.1 billion from USD 25.7 billion in the same period last year.
2026-09-14
Israel Trade Deficit Narrows in July
Israel’s trade deficit narrowed slightly to USD 4.1 billion in July 2026, from USD 4.2 billion in the same month a year earlier. Exports rose 10.2% year-on-year to USD 5.62 billion, supported by stronger shipments of manufactured, mining and quarrying products excluding diamonds (10.2%), as well as diamond exports (49.9%). Meanwhile, imports increased 4.2% to USD 9.72 billion, driven by higher purchases of fuels (47.8%) and raw materials (4.5%), while consumer goods (0.5%) and investment goods (0.4%) recorded more modest gains. In the first seven months of 2026, the trade deficit widened 26.3% to USD 28.2 billion, from USD 22.3 billion in the same period of 2025.
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2026-07-13