Senior Bank of Israel Official Says Shekel ‘Notably Overvalued’
- Export growth is lagging world trade: Market operations chief
- Shekel trading at record high against currency basket
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Israel’s shekel is too strong, at a time when the country’s export growth isn’t keeping pace with global trade, according to a senior Bank of Israel official.
The central bank hasn’t reported buying foreign currency in two of the past four months, and with the economy growing above 3 percent in the last two quarters, it may be reluctant to intervene to weaken the shekel to give exports a push, some analysts say. Yet Andrew Abir, head of the central bank’s Market Operations Department, says the currency remains too robust.