Israel Trade Deficit Widens in September

Israel’s trade deficit widened to USD 3.99 billion in September 2026, the lowest since March, from USD 3.46 billion in the same month a year earlier, but remained well below the USD 5.77 billion recorded in August. Exports rose 30.7% year-on-year to USD 5.76 billion, while imports increased 23.9% to USD 9.74 billion. In the first nine months of 2026, the trade deficit widened 30.6% to USD 38.12 billion, from USD 29.19 billion in the same period of 2025. Over the period, shipments abroad climbed 14.8% to USD 47.13 billion, while purchases from abroad rose 21.4% to USD 85.25 billion.

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.

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.