The Bank of Israel purchased $4.9 billion in foreign currency in February, as part of its program to moderate the strengthening of the shekel. The Bank of Israel reports that the foreign currency reserves rose to a record $185 billion at the end of February. After buying $6.8 billion in foreign currency in January, the Bank of Israel has already purchased $11.7 billion in the first two months of the year, 39% of the plan its declared in mid-January to buy $30 billion in foreign currency in 2021. However, Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron has since clarified that foreign currency purchases could exceed $30 billion. RELATED ARTICLES Shekel weakens sharply as markets fall Bank of Israel Governor rules out rate hike The woman to change the Bank of Israel Israeli economy's 2020 performance not what it seems Since the plan was announced in mid-January, the shekel has depreciated 7% from a 25-year strongest against the dollar of NIS 3.116/$, to the current level of NIS 3.33/$. However, much of this fall over the past week has not been due to the forex intervention of the Bank of Israel but the sharp falls on Wall Street and the purchase of foreign currency by Israeli institutional investors needing to cover their large exposure to Us stock exchange investments. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 7, 2021 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021
