A stock market ticker screen in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, in the center of Tel Aviv, March 15, 2020. Photo: Flash90.

JNS.org – Israel’s economy grew by 15.4 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Most of the growth was due to car imports.

The jump came as a result of the removal of coronavirus restrictions that caused the contraction of the economy in the first quarter due to the lockdown, reported the Israeli business daily Globes on Monday.

The second-quarter growth was better than other OECD countries such as Belgium (14.5 percent), Canada (13.8 percent), the United States (12.2 percent) and Austria (11.4 percent), but lower than France (18.7 percent).

Private consumption grew 34.1 percent per capita on an annualized basis in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, noted the report.