Unlike previous years, Israelis did not spend $ 3 billion this year on vacations abroad, which weakened demand for the dollar • The Bank of Israel in the battle to keep the rate above NIS 3.4
However, the reception at Ben Gurion Airport was empty last month
Photo:
Archive - Yossi Zeliger
According to market estimates, the Bank of Israel has bought billions of dollars in the last two weeks, these are market estimates - the official numbers have not yet been published.
"In the last two weeks, there has been a real battle to keep the price above NIS 3.4 and not get off it," says Amir Eyal, CEO of Infiniti Investment House.
"Every summer, Israelis flow in demand in the order of three billion dollars for vacation trips abroad," Eyal recalls. "This year we stayed in Israel, thus effectively lowering demand to the dollar. The Bank of Israel intervened to balance demand and maintain the stability of the shekel.
"The foreign exchange market in the country is a vigilant market, with an average turnover of two billion dollars per day, including speculative transactions. There is no doubt that when you see a fixed rate of 3.4, this is an artificial step, and the assumption that the Bank of Israel is the big buyer is completely reasonable. "
On Thursday, the dollar fell to NIS 3.35, and then the Bank of Israel apparently bought again to support this target line. Surely we will be able to see the data only after it is published at the end of August. According to Eyal, "the strong shekel is an existing fact because of the natural gas in the country, the relatively good economic performance of the world and the peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates."
On the price of gold, which also rose this week, Eyal says that "the price of gold is not currently affected by the actual amounts of gold. There is a correlation between the price of gold and inflation in the United States. Inflation there strengthens gold, so the price is a response to the printing of money there. "But according to Eyal, it will not be easy for the United States to produce inflation under existing market conditions.