Shekel gains as rate nears NIS 3.30/$

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative

Despite the ongoing appreciation of the shekel, Leader Capital Markets macroeconomist Yonatan Katz does not expect the Bank of Israel to change its monetary policy.

The shekel continues to strengthen against the dollar but is weakening against the euro. In early afternoon inter-bank trading the shekel was down 0.30% against the dollar at NIS 3.309/$ and up 0.21% against the euro at NIS 3.965/€.

On Friday, the Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate 0.30% lower from Thursday, at NIS 3.319/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 0.058% higher, at NIS 3.957/€.

The shekel continues to appreciate against the dollar and is trading at a rate not seen since July 2008. The Bank of Israel, which has been sitting on the sidelines over the past month and is reluctant to intervene to halt the strengthening of the shekel, nevertheless did buy hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency last week, according to traders, in attempts to moderate the appreciation of the Israeli currency against the dollar.

This afternoon the Bank of Israel Monetary Committee will make an interest rate call. Despite the ongoing appreciation of the shekel, Leader Capital Markets macroeconomist Yonatan Katz does not expect the Bank of Israel to change its monetary policy. Katz sees the dollar remaining under pressure from the shekel.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 30, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
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