FX.co ★ Palestine Economy Recovers in Q1

The Palestinian economy experienced a notable 9.1% growth in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year. This marks a significant rebound from a 1% decline observed in the preceding quarter and represents the first economic expansion since the third quarter of 2023. Key drivers of this growth were substantial increases in various sectors, most notably agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which surged by 26%, alongside a 17.2% rise in the wholesale and retail trade sector. Additionally, there were gains in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, and water sectors (7.7%), information and communication (6.1%), financial and insurance services (5.4%), general services (4.6%), and public administration and defense (1.8%). Conversely, the construction sector experienced a contraction, with a decline of 5.8%. On a quarter-to-quarter comparison, the GDP decreased by 1% in Q1, marking its first drop in a year, following a 1.5% increase in the previous quarter. This decline is attributed to ongoing Israeli aggression and a 1.1% downturn in the economy of the West Bank.