December 31, 2003, saw the greatest ever amount of foreign currency trading in Israel, on the eve of closing the 2003 balance sheets and financial reports, and the setting of Gilboa dollar-denominated bond exercise prices.
Foreign currency traded totaled an unprecedented $4.38 billion on December 31, 37% more than on the date David Klein was appointed Governor of the Bank of Israel in January 2000, and 2.74 times the amount on the date Jacob Frenkel retired as Governor of the Bank of Israel in November 1999. Foreign currency cash transactions also reached a record $1.83 billion on December 31, 42% of the day's total trading.
Israeli banks led the surge in foreign currency trading on December 31, posting a record $439 million in foreign currency transactions, 80% of which was in cash.
Transactions by foreign banks totaled $964 million, including $91 million in cash.
The lively trading and heavy demand caused the shekel to depreciate a sharp 0.8% against the dollar on Friday. The representative rate was set at NIS 4.414/$. The shekel depreciated another 0.7% against the euro, to a record NIS 5.5722/€.
Bank dealing rooms predict that Israel's foreign currency market will be calm and stable this week. They predict that the shekel-dollar exchange rate will be NIS 4.37-4.45/$, and the shekel-euro exchange rate will be NIS 5.5-5.57/€.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 4, 2004