The Bank of Israel continues to slow down its purchases of foreign currency.
Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of October 2018 stood at $113.911 billion, down $1.547 billion from their level at the end of September, the Bank of Israel reports. The reserves represent 31.1% of GDP.
The decrease was the result of private sector transfers of approximately $14 million and a revaluation that cut the reserves by $1.905 billion. The decrease was offset by foreign exchange purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling $117 million, all of which were part of the purchase program intended to offset the effects of natural gas production on the exchange rate, and government transfers from abroad totaling about $255 million.
Israel's foreign currency reserves have risen from $111.3 billion 12 months ago to a record $117.6 billion in January 2018 but have since fallen to $113.9 billion with minimal foreign currency purchases by the Bank of Israel in recent months.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 7, 2018
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Bank of Israel photo: Ariel Yerusalimsky