Israeli inflation declined in May, led by drop in cost of foreign travel, fresh vegetables

Israeli inflation in May retreated, led by declines in the costs of foreign travel and fresh vegetables, along with housing services, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.

Annual inflation over the past 12 months decelerated to 3.1 percent down from 3.6 percent in April, and 3.3% in March. The government’s annual target range of inflation is between 1% to 3%.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation that tracks the average cost of household goods, declined in May by 0.3%, versus analysts’ expectations of a decline of about 0.1%. That’s after the CPI monthly figure in April rose by 1.1%.

In May, declines were seen in the costs of transportation, which fell 2.4%. Expenses for foreign travel and flights in Israel fell by 7.9%. The price of fresh vegetables went down 0.6%, and tenant-owned housing services, decreased by 0.3%.

These were offset by notable increases in the price of fresh fruit, which rose by 3.9%, clothing and footwear were up 1.4%, and culture and entertainment by 0.6%.

Rents on renewal of contracts rose 2.7% in May, and rents on contracts for new tenants went up 5.2%.