The shekel is strengthening today against the dollar and stable against the euro. In afternoon inter-bank trading, the shekel was down 0.44% against the dollar at NIS 3.206/$ and up 0.03% against the euro at NIS 3.942/€.
On Thursday the Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate 0.156% higher from Wednesday, at NIS 3.215/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 0.096% higher, at NIS 3.944/€. No new rate was set on Friday, with forex markets closed around the world for New Year's Day.
The shekel has gained to its strongest against the dollar since October 1996 after gaining 7% against the dollar in 2020 and strengthening 8% against the US currency in 2019. Analysts expect the shekel to continue to strengthen.
Later today the Bank of Israel will announce the interest rate with it expected to remain unchanged at its historic low of 0.1%. However, the Bank of Israel will issue a new growth forecast with cautious optimism following the success of Israel's vaccination drive and the hope that the economy can reopen next month without the fear of any more lockdowns.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 4, 2021
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