The shekel rises today against the US dollar and the euro. In the afternoon of interbank trading, the shekel fell 0.21% against the dollar to 3.731 shekels/dollar, and was down 0.49% against the euro at 3.926 shekels/euro.
Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-to-representative dollar rate 0.107% lower than on Tuesday, at 3.739 shekels/dollar, and the shekel-to-representative euro rate was set 0.137% higher at 3.945 shekels/euro.
Since the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the dollar has risen against the world’s major currencies. The dollar is 3.5% stronger against the euro, 2.8% stronger against the pound sterling, 2.7% stronger against the Japanese yen, 1.8% stronger against the Australian dollar, and 1% stronger against the Canadian dollar. But the shekel bucked this trend and became 0.5% stronger against the US dollar.
Kobi Levy, head of market strategy at Bank Leumi, says the reason for this is improved sentiment towards the Israeli economy. “We are seeing Israeli bond yield spreads declining, risk premiums moderating, and the local stock market recording good gains. Inflationary expectations for next year have also declined.”
He adds: “Both currencies are expected to strengthen, each for its own reasons, but the shekel’s prospects depend on the war and its end, while events that support the dollar are already beginning to materialize, such as interest rates not falling quickly.” In Levy’s estimation, the end of the war is expected to strengthen the local currency, but he tempers expectations slightly, as part of the risk premium has already begun to decline and markets are calculating the improvement in the security position.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 21, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
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