Twenty Shekel bill, with special text celebrating Israel's sixty years anniversary. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel’s GDP rose by an annualized 2.8% in the first quarter of 2013, up from 2.6% in the preceding quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Friday.

The numbers, while not extraordinary, allayed fears that Israel could be headed for an economic slowdown.

In addition, private consumption rose by an annualized 5.6% in the first quarter, after falling by half a percent in the preceding quarter. Private consumption per capita rose by 4% in the first quarter. Expenditure on durable goods per capita rose by an annualized 14% in the first quarter, including a 64% jump in expenditure on cars, after falling by 4% in the preceding quarter.

Not everything was rosy, however. Business product growth slowed to an annualized 2% in the first quarter from 3.4% in the preceding quarter and 2.9% in the third quarter of 2012. The decline in investment in fixed assets worsened to an annualized 14.7% in the first quarter from 11% in the preceding quarter.