2-shekel coins. The Israeli gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.8 percent in this year’s first quarter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel experienced a relatively slow rate of economic growth in the first quarter of 2016, according to figures released Monday by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

The Israeli gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.8 percent in this year’s first quarter, falling well short of the Bank of Israel’s projected a growth rate of 2.8 percent for that period.

Israeli exports declined by 12.9 percent in the first quarter, though some notable areas of growth included private consumption (4 percent) and investment in fixed assets (7.5 percent).

“The GDP data should be a wake-up call to the [Israeli] government,” said Idan Azoulay, the head of mutual funds at the Epsilon investment firm, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The CBS figures, however, are preliminary and could be revised later.