JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli trade deficit of goods in October reached 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 80 percent from a year ago, marking the largest monthly such deficit since October 2012.
Imports of goods hit 6.2 billion dollars last month, while exports of goods stood at 3.9 billion dollars, according to the temporary trade data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel.
In the first 10 months of this year, Israeli trade deficit totaled 12.7 billion dollars, up 89 percent compared with the same period of 2016. Of that, imports of goods reached 55.9 billion dollars, while exports were 43.2 billion dollars.
In October, 40 percent of total imports were raw materials (excluding diamonds and fuels), 19 percent consumer goods, 17 percent machinery, equipment and land vehicles for investment; and 24 percent diamonds, fuels, ships and aircraft, according to the data.
With regard to exports, manufacturing, mining and quarrying (excluding diamonds) constituted 86 percent of all exports of goods, diamonds took up 13 percent, and agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed the remaining 1 percent.
Trade in goods last month was influenced by changes in the value of the Israeli currency NIS relative to the other currencies in which import and export transactions were conducted.
In October, the NIS strengthened 0.7 percent against the U.S. dollar, 2.1 percent against the euro, and 1.2 percent against the pound sterling.
