"I suggest to all of us, whoever is not a speculator who makes shorts on the shekel and the dollar, disconnect from this barometer. The previous government received a dollar-shekel at a rate of 3.20-something and left us an inheritance of 3.50-something. There is a weakening of the shekel, but I think the shekel is going to strengthen. In the past two weeks there has been a strengthening of the shekel," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat today.
The dollar plunges against the shekel (illustration), photo: GettyImages
"Reform is good for the economy, period. It will restore certainty, since the uncertainty that exists today in transactions because of the activist interpretation of the court, is a risk that rolls over to the price of the transaction, in the end everything becomes more expensive. The reform will restore authority and responsibility, which will inevitably lead to a more flexible risk model that is worth less regulation and bureaucracy that chokes the Israeli economy."
Since the beginning of the month, the shekel has strengthened again against the dollar, against the background of the belief in the markets that the sides will reach broad agreements at the president's residence. After the dollar had already surged to 3.75 two weeks ago, the trend reversed and the dollar fell back below $3.60. Last Friday, the strengthening trend of the shekel continued, and the dollar fell to NIS 3.55.
However, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement earlier this week that the legal reform would be advanced by "practical and measured measures," the shekel weakened against the dollar and euro. Today and yesterday, trading in the foreign exchange market is proceeding stable. The dollar is currently trading around the level of NIS 3.60 and the euro around NIS 3.93.
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