JERUSALEM, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel's budget deficit for the 12 months to November dipped to 7.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), from 7.9 percent for the 12 months to October, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The new figure aligns with the government's revised 7.7-percent deficit limit for 2024, which was approved last week by the parliament to replace the previous 6.6 percent of GDP.
Israel's deficit in November alone was 12.2 billion shekels (3.4 billion U.S. dollars), compared to 16.6 billion shekels in November 2023.
Analysts attributed the decrease to the calculation's exclusion of abnormal expenses recorded in November of last year following the outbreak of conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
However, estimates suggest that exceptionally high expenditures by government ministries will result in a high December deficit, bringing the annual figure closer to 8 percent of GDP.
The ministry estimated that Israel's war expenses have so far totaled 112.8 billion shekels. According to its data, total government expenditures between January and November increased by 24.5 percent year-on-year to 553.8 billion shekels, while revenues rose by 8.9 percent to 437.2 billion shekels.
