Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of January 2018 stood at a record $117.615 billion, reports the Bank of Israel, up $4.604 billion from their level at the end of December 2017. The reserves represent 34.5% of GDP
The Bank of Israel said that the increase was the result of: foreign exchange purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling $1.806 billion; a revaluation that increased the reserves by about $1.841 billion; government transfers from abroad totaling about $939 million; and private sector transfers of about $18 million.
Bank of Israel Governor Dr. Karnit Flug told the Globes Israel Business Conference in Jerusalem last month that the bank had been intervening aggressively in foreign currency trading and that this would be seen in the January figures. This is the largest amount of foreign currency that the Bank of Israel has purchased since June 2015.
Israel's foreign currency reserves have risen over the past 12 months from $101.6 billion at the end of January 2017 to $117.6 billion at the end of the last month.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 7, 2018
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