The consumer price index (CPI) in Israel rose by 5.3 percent in 2022, according to data issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Sunday, the highest calendar-year level since 2002 when the annual inflation rate was 6.5 percent, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
This is a sharp rise from 2020 which recorded a deflation of 0.7 percent and 2021 when the annual CPI was 2.8 percent.
Inflation is continuing to rise even though the Israeli central bank has gradually raised the base interest rate from 0.1 percent in April 2022 to 3.75 percent at present.
"The global shortage of raw materials continued, and demand still exceeds supply, so even the sharp interest increase still does not affect inflation," Gad Lior, a senior analyst for Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, told Xinhua.
He estimated that the interest rate hike will continue, and may reach 4.25 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Israel's home prices in the October-November period of 2022 registered a year-on-year increase of 18.8 percent, down from a 12-year high of 20.3 percent reported in the previous monthly period.