Just as the forex markets began to calm down after yesterday’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy reignited it with comments about Iran.
This afternoon, the Bank of Israel set the representative rate of the shekel in dollars by 0.575% from Monday, at 3.672 shekels / dollar, and the representative exchange rate between the shekel and the euro was set by 0.129%, at 3.958 shekels / euro. Since then, the shekel has risen against the dollar by 0.635% at 3.695/dollar, and the shekel has risen against the euro by 0.571% at 3.980/€.
Yesterday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke at the Herzliya conference about the recent plans of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and warned the head of military intelligence in the Israeli army, General Aharon Haliva, that a mistake made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah could lead to war. General Halevy, speaking at the Herzliya Conference today, sent a direct message to Iran. “There are negative developments on the horizon that could lead to action,” Halevy said, noting that Iran is moving forward more than ever toward uranium enrichment.
It is estimated that the Iranian regime is only six months away from enriching uranium to 90% – a level that could supply nuclear weapons. “Iran is 1,500 kilometers away,” Halevy said. “The Israeli army knows how to fight in its own backyard and we need to build capacity.”
After Halevy’s statements, the shekel began to weaken sharply. A trader in the market told “Globes” that the shekel began to decline after Halevy’s remarks were translated into English and appeared in news reports, raising investor concerns.
Yossi Freiman, CEO of Risk Management at PRICO, Finance and Investments, told Globes that concerns about an event with Iran raise uncertainty and fear of a security crisis. He points out that the combination of fear in the United States of the continuation of the US debt talks also added to the security concerns, “which has caused a significant rise in demand for foreign currencies by foreign investors.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 23, 2023.
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