As the Bank of Israel repeatedly intervenes in foreign currency trading to purchase foreign currency and weaken the shekel to assist exporters, foreign exchange reserves have reached a new record. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of March 2017 stood at $103.291 billion, an increase of $1.271 billion from their level at the end of February, the Bank of Israel reports. The reserves represent 32.4% of GDP. RELATED ARTICLES Bank of Israel exploits light trading to buy dollars The increase was the result of: foreign currency purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling $1.585 billion during March; a revaluation that increased the reserves by about $549 million. The increase was offset by: government transfers abroad totaling about $649 million: and private sector transfers of about $214 million. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves have risen from $94.8 billion to $103.3 billion over the past 12 months. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 5, 2017 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017
