The shekel is strengthening today against the dollar and against the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading, the shekel-dollar rate is down 0.79%, at NIS 3.565/$, and the shekel-euro rate is down 0.46%, at NIS 3.88/€.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate down 0.609% from Friday, at NIS 3.593/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 0.725% lower at NIS 3.904/€.
The shekel is appreciating after the Bank of Israel yesterday hiked the interest rate by 0.25% to 4.5%. This was the ninth consecutive rate hike over the past year.
The Bank of Israel also cut Israel's growth forecast for 2023 from 3% to 2.5% and said it sees inflation remaining above the 1%-3% annual target range at 3.9% at the end of 2023. The Bank of Israel estimated that the government's judicial reform plan would cost the country 2.8% of its GDP or NIS 50 billion over the next three years.
Yesterday’s interest rate hike will add NIS 64 to the monthly repayment of an average mortgage. Within a year, the average mortgage repayment has jumped by NIS 1,030.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 4, 2023.
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