Israel’s foreign currency deficit has reached $10 billion, the Treasury announced. On a per capita basis, the debt amounts to more than $3000 for each Israeli citizen, the highest in the world, according to economists. It is the equivalent of three years’ exports.
The Treasury said the $10 billion point was expected to have been reached only by the end of this year. The deficit was accelerated partly because of $280 million worth of military imports last year which included equipment that should have been imported during the previous fiscal year but was postponed. The deficit increased by $425 million in January, 1977 alone, the Treasury reported.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.