The shekel is strengthening today against the dollar and against the euro after the US Federal Reserve cut the interest rate by 0.25% yesterday. In afternoon inter-bank trading, the shekel-dollar exchange rate is down 0.80% against the dollar at NIS 3.513/$ and down 0.58% against the euro at 3.888/€.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative rate up 0.312% at NIS 3.538/$ from Monday's rate, and set the shekel-euro rate down 0.179% at 3.904/€.
The shekel is stronger this morning after the US Federal Reserve cut the key interest rate by 0.25% to the 1.75%-2% range. This was the second rate cut, following a similar cut in July and narrows the dollar-shekel rate gap - Israel's interest rate is still far lower at 0.25%. President Trump felt that the Fed rate cut was not enough and he took to Twitter to vent his anger at Fed chair Jerome Powell. He tweeted, "Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve fail again. No 'guts,' no sense, no vision! A terrible communicator!"
Back in Israel, the country is still digesting the political deadlock posed by Tuesday's elections results. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Blue & White leader Benny Gantz to open talks on a national unity government but it is hard to imagine the two men finding a rotation formula that they can agree on.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 19, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019