The shekel may be at its weakest for nine months against the dollar but it is not because the Bank of Israel is purchasing foreign currency to weaken the Israeli currency. In April the bank only purchased $24 million in foreign currency. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of April 2018 stood at $115.354 billion, down $773 million from their level at the end of March, the Bank of Israel reports. The reserves represent 32.9% of GDP. RELATED ARTICLES BoI earned 3% returns on foreign currency reserves in 2017 Prico: BoI must buy $2-3b monthly to keep shekel stable Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley recommend buying shekel Israel's foreign exchange reserves soared $4.6b in Jan The decrease was the result of: government transfers abroad of about $182 million; private sector transfers of about $37 million and a revaluation that cut the reserves by about $578 million. The decrease was offset by foreign exchange purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling $24 million, all of which were part of the purchase program intended to offset the effects of natural gas production on the exchange rate. This is the fourth consecutive month that the foreign currency exchange reserves have fallen. In January 2018 they totaled $117.6 billion. However, the reserves have risen over the past 12 months from $101.5 billion. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 7, 2018 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018
