Shekel opens week stronger

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative

Bank Hapoalim chief economist Victor Bahar: An interest rate rise in the first half of 2022 has become a realistic scenario.

The shekel is strengthening against the dollar and against the euro in afternoon inter-bank trading today. The shekel-dollar rate is down 0.17% against the dollar at NIS 3.206/$ and up 0.36% against the euro at NIS 3.725/€.

On Friday, the Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate unchanged, at NIS 3.211/$, and the representative shekel-euro rate was set 0.037% lower at NIS 3.737/€.

The shekel is stronger against the dollar, which is at a monthly low against the world's major currencies, "Reuters" reports, as traders continued to focus on the prospect of interest rate hikes and tightening outside of the US.

This morning Bank Hapoalim chief economist Victor Bahar said "The more we see interest rate rises in other countries, such as the UK for example, the higher the chances that interest rates will rise in Israel. An interest rate rise in the first half of 2022 has become a realistic scenario."

The shekel has been trading stably within a very narrow NIS 3.20-3.25$ trading range since July, despite reduced Bank of Israel foreign currency purchases. But analysts like Bank Leumi's Kobi Levi predict that the shekel-dollar rate will move below NIS 3.20/$ in 2022 due to the inherent strength of the Israel economy, when it is likely to trade in the NIS 3.15-3.25/$ range.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2021.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2021.

Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Shekel Photo: ASAP Creative
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018