Israel Holds Rates as Multiple Conflicts Push Up Inflation
- Central bank holds rates for sixth straight meeting at 4.5%
- It also lowers growth forecasts as war weighs on economy
The Bank of Israel in Jerusalem.
Photographer: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Israel’s central bank left interest rates unchanged even as it lowered economic-growth forecasts, with the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon causing inflationary pressures and preventing the country from joining a global easing cycle.
The bank kept its benchmark rate at 4.5% on Wednesday, in line with the estimates of all economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It was the monetary committee’s sixth straight hold.