“Inflation is decreasing, housing prices are taking a nosedive, unemployment is at 3.3% – almost the best result in the western world,” Israeli prime minister says.
By Ben Rappaport, United with Israel and JNS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday broadcast a message heralding “more good news for the Israeli economy.”
“Inflation is decreasing, housing prices are taking a nosedive, unemployment is at 3.3% – almost the best result in the western world,” he said.
“It’s not for nothing that the international Fitch ratings agency left us an A+ rating. That’s a fantastic rating at a time when they reduced the ratings of large and respectable countries.”
“We are continuing in policy that works – we are investing in infrastructure, roads, trains, light rail. fiber optics, AI, and we are also going to reduce the price at the supermarket. What is good for Europe is good for Israel, at European prices,” Netanyahu added.
U.S. credit evaluation firm Fitch Ratings on Monday reaffirmed Israel’s A+ score with a “stable” outlook, causing the Tel Aviv stock market to rise and the shekel to strengthen against the dollar and the euro.
“Israel’s ‘A+’ rating balances a diversified, resilient and high value-added economy and strong external finances against a relatively high government debt/GDP ratio, ongoing security risks and a record of unstable governments that has hindered policymaking,” Fitch said.
The firm indicated that it was unclear how the government’s judicial reform initiative will impact Israel’s credit metrics in the future, although it could bring negative changes “if the weakening of institutional checks leads to worse policy outcomes or sustained negative investor sentiment or weakens governance indicators.”
However, Fitch said that the current judicial reform measures “are unlikely to trigger a material exodus of talent and capital in the high-tech sector.”
The company held a round of meetings with Israeli economic officials ahead of the latest report, with one of its economists visiting Israel last month to discuss judicial reform developments.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a joint statement, saying, “The approval of Israel’s credit rating at the level of A+ and the leaving of the forecast at ‘stable’ prove what we have been saying all the time: Israel’s economy is strong, stable and solid.