Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer has again intervened in the foreign currency market. The Bank of Israel reportedly bought up to $50 million this morning when the shekel-dollar exchange rate fell to NIS 3.563/$. After the intervention, the exchange rate rose 0.2%, but then resumed its slide to NIS 3.564/$, 0.13% below yesterday's representative exchange rate, confirming assessments that speculators are unimpressed by the Bank of Israel's minor action.
The Bank of Israel intervened in the foreign currency market last week, making three purchases of dollars, which failed to stem the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar.
In morning inter-bank trading, the shekel-euro exchange rate rose 0.08%, compared with yesterday's representative rate, to NIS 4.677/€.
Energy Finance CEO Yossi Frank told "Globes" today, "The Bank of Israel is continuing the same path which has failed to yield results - small interventions which are swallowed fast by waves of supply by speculators. The upping of the deficit target, the rating downgrade, and the tensions in the north, should, in the natural course of events, have greatly weakened the shekel, but nothing in foreign currency market lately has been natural, and the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance must immediately take more aggressive measures, otherwise the results will be disastrous for industry and the economy."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 6, 2013
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