Israeli Shekel Falls After Bank of Israel Cuts Rates
The Israeli new shekel weakened against the US dollar on Monday after the Bank of Israel reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, matching market expectations. The central bank said stable inflation and lower geopolitical tensions, following a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, supported its decision to ease monetary policy. "We are still in an environment of high geopolitical and fiscal uncertainty and the range of scenarios remains wide," said the Governor of the Bank of Israel. On the US front, the dollar strengthened before Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes, pushing the US Dollar Index above 101.1 as investors looked for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook and future interest rate moves. At the time of writing, USD/ILS was trading at 2.9970, up 0.19%.
The Israeli new shekel weakened against the US dollar on Monday after the Bank of Israel reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, matching market expectations.
The central bank said stable inflation and lower geopolitical tensions, following a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, supported its decision to ease monetary policy. "We are still in an environment of high geopolitical and fiscal uncertainty and the range of scenarios remains wide," said the Governor of the Bank of Israel.
On the US front, the dollar strengthened before Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes, pushing the US Dollar Index above 101.1 as investors looked for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook and future interest rate moves.
At the time of writing, USD/ILS was trading at 2.9970, up 0.19%.