Israel’s consumer price index rose in July by 1.1 percent, leading to the highest annual increase since 2008 at 5.2 percent over the last 12 months.
Significant price increases were reported in the categories of fresh fruit, transportation and especially housing.
The price of fresh fruit rose by 8.5 percent, transportation rose by 3.3 percent, housing prices increased by 1.2 percent and culture and entertainment rose by 1.2 percent.
Over the past 12 months, the price of apartments jumped 17.8 percent – the highest increase in a decade.
July’s consumer price index was affected in large part by the increase in the price of fuel. The August index is expected to cool off a bit, due to a drop in excise tax and reduced oil prices worldwide.
But that 5.2 percent annual increase is considerably higher than the target set by the Bank of Israel, which is likely to continue its efforts to control inflation with more interest rate hikes when its decision for the month is announced next week.
