The foreign currency reserves held by the Bank of Israel fell by $20, 000, 000 last year to a total of $616. 000, 000, despite an improvement in the nation’s foreign trade figures, according to the bank’s annual balance sheet released here today.
Part of the drop in the reserve figure is accounted for by the fact that less capital flowed into the country while more dollars were paid out in servicing the growing foreign debts. Yohanan Bader, a Gahal member of the Israel Parliament, said last night in an address in Haifa that the nation’s foreign debt now totaled $1, 300, 000, 000.
Mr. Bader also claimed that the nation’s unemployed now total 80, 000. (No precise official unemployment figures exist but Government estimates vary from 30, 000 to 65, 000.)
Israel and France signed a new trade agreement for the coming year which provides for larger commercial exchanges between the two countries. No figures were released.
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