The Bank of Israel released Israel’s International Investment Position (IIP) data for the fourth quarter of 2024, showing a USD 27.5 billion (5.2 percent) increase in external liabilities to around USD 554 billion and a smaller USD 2.8 billion (0.4 percent) rise in residents’ external assets to about USD 774 billion. As a result, Israel’s surplus of external assets over liabilities declined by roughly USD 25 billion (10 percent) to around USD 220 billion. The increase in liabilities was attributed mainly to higher prices of Israeli securities held by nonresidents alongside continued net investment inflows by nonresidents. Growth in residents’ assets abroad reflected net investments overseas by Israeli residents and higher prices of foreign securities held by residents. The surplus in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) decreased by about USD 6 billion (2.2 percent) to approximately USD 277 billion, while the ratio of gross external debt to GDP fell by about 0.7 percentage points to around 27 percent at end-December. For 2024, the release notes a sharp rise in net investments into the economy by nonresidents to about USD 27 billion (USD 8 billion in 2023), including a resumption of net purchases of Israeli securities in the second half of 2024 after two years of realizations. Nonresident direct investment also resumed in the second half, totaling about USD 17 billion for 2024 overall, slightly above the 2023 level, while Israeli residents’ net investments abroad rose markedly to about USD 47 billion.

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