The shekel is weakening against the dollar and the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading, the shekel-dollar rate is 0.71% higher at NIS 3.846/$, and the shekel-euro rate is 0.15% higher at NIS 4.055/€.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate up 0.079% from Friday, before the Yom Kippur holiday, at NIS 3.819/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 0.337% lower at NIS 4.049/€.
Since the beginning of September, the shekel has only weakened by 1%, relative stability compared with the previous months. Since the start of 2023, the shekel has weakened by nearly 9% against the US dollar.
In recent weeks, this has been due to the strengthening of the dollar on world markets, while the shekel has gained against other major currencies including the euro.
Bank Leumi head of markets strategy Kobby Levi told "Globes" that even though the shekel has continued to weaken against the US dollar, the Israeli currency has strengthened sharply over the past week against the euro, sterling, the yen and Swiss franc. Over the past week the shekel was one of the strongest currencies when compared with G10 currencies.
He said, "Recently, we see that the dollar is strengthening against the world's currencies due to the fact that it offers investors the security of the world's largest economy and the world's most common reserve currency. Macroeconomic conditions are good in relation to the world, when US data indicate GDP growth that is still strong and interest rates and returns are high compared to the rest of the world."
It is unclear whether the shekel is still in jeopardy of further weakening while the political uncertainty in Israel remains so high.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 27, 2023.
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