Israel in October posted its first monthly trade surplus in at least 14 years as exports increased during the global economic recovery and imports fell, led by oil.

The surplus, excluding polished diamonds, ships and aircraft, was a seasonally adjusted $45.7 million, compared with a deficit of $1.2 billion in the same month last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday. Exports rose 5.4 percent to $3.4b., while imports fell 25%. The bureau's available statistics go back as far as 1995 and show no previous surplus.

"We need to see a consistent strength to conclude that exports are on a full-recovery path," Tevfik Aksoy, an economist at Morgan Stanley in London, said by e-mail. "One month is not enough to draw conclusions, in my view."

The economy returned to growth in the second quarter, expanding an annualized 0.8%, after contracting for two consecutive quarters, due to the global economic crisis. The Bank of Israel has estimated that the economy grew 2.1% in the third quarter.

Exports, which account for about 45% of Israel's gross domestic product, have started to bounce back from their low in February and March, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Knesset Finance Committee before the figures were released.

"We have started the climb upward and have recovered about half of the drop in exports," he said. "I hope that in 2010 we will complete the recovery."

Helen Brusilovsky, director of the bureau's foreign-trade division, said the drop in imports was partially due to falling energy costs. Oil prices in October declined an average of 38% from the previous year.