The shekel is strengthening today against the dollar and against the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading the shekel-dollar exchange rate was down 0.74% at NIS 3.483/$ and down 0.13% against the euro at NIS 3.894/€.
On the foreign exchange market yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel 0.200% higher from Friday at NIS 3.509/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 1.199% higher, at NIS 3.846/€.
The shekel is at its strongest against the dollar since early March, on the eve of the coronavirus crisis. In part this is due to the weakness of the US dollar on international markets, as the country struggles with rioting and demonstrations as well as the ongoing effects of Covid-19.
Despite a worrying surge in new Covid-19 cases in Israel, the number of daily new infections remains below the government threshold of 100 per day, which would stop the easing of the lockdown. Meanwhile the economy is rapidly moving towards full operations - the main exceptions being tourism and aviation.
Israel's economy contracted 7.1% in the first quarter but last week the Bank of Israel research department announced that it was improving its previous growth forecast for the Israeli economy to contract by only 4.5% in 2020, compared with 5.3% in its April forecast, due to the swifter than expected pace that Israel has come out of lockdown. The Bank of Israel sees Israel's economy growing by 6.8% in 2021, compared with 8.7% in the April forecast.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 2, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020