The shekel is strengthening today against the dollar and against the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading the shekel-dollar exchange rate was down 0.28% at NIS 3.424/$ and down 0.25% against the euro at NIS 3.867/€.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar exchange rate down 0.348% from Monday at NIS 3.434/$ and the shekel-euro rate up 0.303% at NIS 3.877/€.
The shekel is at its strongest against the dollar since February before the pandemic and the Israeli currency is now gaining against the dollar for the seventh straight session. The strength of the shekel reflects the rebound of the Israeli economy after lockdown and despite shrinking GDP and high unemployment, sentiment is clearly that Israel is faring better than most other western economies.
The shekel is heading towards NIS 3.40/$. It has not fallen below this level since January 2018 and is unlikely to now with the Bank of Israel having shown over the past year that it is prepared to purchase billions of dollars in foreign currency to weaken the shekel and assist the country's exporters.
Despite the surge in new coronavirus infections in Israel, the shekel is benefiting from assurances by Finance Minister Israel Katz that the country will not return to lockdown.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 24, 2020
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