Shekel gains continue amid post-virus optimism

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative

The Israeli economy seems to be bouncing back quickly after lockdown with only tourism and aviation still badly hit.

The shekel is again strengthening today against the dollar and against the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading the shekel-dollar exchange rate was down 0.35% at NIS 3.472/$ and down 0.19% against the euro at NIS 3.884/€.

On the foreign exchange market yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar exchange rate down 0.712% from Monday at NIS 3.484/$ and the shekel-euro rate down 0.210% at NIS 3.891/€.

The shekel is trading at its strongest against the dollar since early March, on the eve of the coronavirus crisis. The dollar strengthened internationally as a safe haven during the Covid-19 crisis but economic optimism as countries come out of lockdown is weakening the US currency, which has lost 5% against the euro over the past few weeks.

Israel's economy contracted 7.1% in the first quarter. But the economy seems to be bouncing back quickly after lockdown with only tourism and aviation still badly hit. 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 3, 2020

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

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
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