Jerusalem, July 11 (IANS): For the first time since 2007, Israel's state budget recorded a 12-month surplus, the country's Finance Ministry said on Sunday.

During the 12 months ended in June, Israel's budget surplus amounted to 6.4 billion shekels ($1.85 billion), which is 0.4 per cent of the country's GDP.

The Ministry added that this is Israel's highest annual budget surplus since 1987, Xinhua news agency reported.

In February 2021, Israel's 12-month budget deficit reached a record high of 173.9 billion shekels, or 12.4 per cent of its GDP, and has been gradually declining every month since then, the data showed.

In the first half of 2022, a surplus of 31.9 billion shekels was recorded in the Israeli budget, compared to a deficit of 43.7 billion shekels in the same period in 2021.

The transition from deficit to surplus was mainly due to a sharp decrease in spending on the national Covid-19 financial support plan, along with an increase in tax revenues, according to the Ministry.