After the US dollar weakened 0.5% against the shekel this morning and the exchange rate fell to NIS 3.815/$, its lowest-point for nearly one month, the Bank of Israel intervened on the foreign currency exchange market in Tel Aviv and purchased tens of millions of dollars-worth of foreign currency, sources inform "Globes." This is the first time that the Bank of Israel has intervened in foreign currency trading for a protracted period.
Although no huge sums of foreign currency were purchased, the intervention had the desired effect and after the Bank of Israel set the representative rate for the dollar down -0.261% from Friday's rate at NIS 3.817, the rate was up 0.14% in future options this evening at NIS 3.822/$.
Since Donald Trump was elected US president last month, the dollar has been strengthening against the world's major currencies, but the shekel has been bucking the trend.
The shekel has also been strengthening strongly against the euro over the past month, pushing the exchange rate down to 14 year lows. However, despite the Italian referendum results and resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the shekel-euro rate rose today 0.274% to NIS 4.093/€. The shekel continued weakening against the euro after the representative rate was set and in the evening the euro was up 0.17% against the shekel at NIS 4.10/€.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 5, 2016
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