The shekel-dollar exchange rate fell below the NIS 3.8/$ level, and is down 0.81% to NIS 3.78/$, and the shekel-euro exchange rate is down 0.85% to NIS 5.3992/€.
Following a sharp drop yesterday, the shekel-dollar rate has fallen to levels not seen since November, 2008.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel announced that it left the interest rate unchanged at its historic low of 0.5%. At the same time, it said that it will stop, as of August 5th, its policy of buying Israeli government bonds. The bank's notice said that the bank will not sell the bonds it currently owns.
Easy Forex says that the moves show Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer is less concerned with a near term outbreak of inflation, and that pushing the growth rate higher is a bigger concern of his.
Citi analyst David Lubin continues to maintain, however, that the Bank of Israel will raise rates by the end of the year, and will become the first central bank in the world to raise interest rates in 2009.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.811/$, 1.448% lower than the day before, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 5.4457/€, 0.922% lower than the day before.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 28, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009