Israeli Central Bank to Sell Reserves to Curb Depreciation

On Monday, Israel’s central bank announced a plan to sell up to US$30 billion amid the weakening of the Israeli currency against the dollar.

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This is the first time ever that the Bank of Israel has carried out such a plan to sell foreign currencies, said a spokeswoman of the bank.

The plan aims to moderate the ongoing gradual weakening of the shekel against the dollar, which began back in January 2023. Since Jan. 25, when the exchange rate stood at 3.37 shekels per dollar, the Israeli currency has registered a 13.8-percent depreciation against the dollar.

The weakening trend of the shekel in recent weeks intensified on Monday amid the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza.

On Monday, the shekel/dollar exchange rate was set at 3.91 shekels per dollar, the lowest point since it hit 3.911 shekels per dollar on March 8, 2016.

The bank intends to actively participate in the market in the near future with the aim of stabilizing the shekel exchange rate and ensuring sufficient liquidity for the continued smooth operation of the markets.

“The Bank of Israel will continue monitoring developments, tracking all the markets, and acting with the tools available to it as necessary,” it said, adding that Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of September stood at US$198.56 billion, or 38.1 percent of GDP.

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