The shekel-euro rate dropped 1.47% to NIS 5.4785/€.
The shekel-dollar representative exchange rate has reached NIS 4.51/$, following a sharp 0.54% shekel depreciation against the dollar. This is the first time in the past five months that the representative rate has exceeded the psychological barrier of NIS 4.50/$. The representative shekel-dollar exchange rate has risen by NIS 0.153/$ in 2004, reflecting a 3.5% shekel depreciation against the dollar.
On the other hand, the shekel is gaining ground against the euro. Since the beginning of the year, the shekel-euro representative rate has dropped by NIS 0.244/€, a 4.3% slide.
The background for the shekel deprecation against the dollar was Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to the Governor of the Bank of Israel to lower the interest rate, in order to weaken the shekel against the dollar. Another factor has been the large foreign currency purchases by the business and manufacturing sector since the beginning of 2004.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 3, 2004