Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer launched a new war on the falling shekel-dollar rate Monday and ordered the purchase of $100 million of greenbacks, soon after the rate dropped close to 3.59 shekels to the dollar for the first time in nearly two years.

The massive purchase catapulted the rate from the 18-month low of 3.592 to 3.62 in only a few minutes.

Advertisement




The shekel has strengthened this year, receiving recent support from expectations of positive fallout from the beginning of the flow of Israeli natural off-shore gas.

A strong shekel is great news for consumers buying items imported from the United States, but it sends shivers through Israeli companies with revenues in dollars. After converting income to shekels, the firms are left with less money, and their executives are constantly pressuring the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Israel to take measures to raise the currency rate.


Share this article on WhatsApp:
Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleWhy Carter at Cardozo Evokes Fond Memories
Next articleIn Hebrew: ‘Humanity’
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press.