Bank of Israel to sell up to $30 billion to stabilize shekel rate
3 Min Read
This is the first intervention in around two years in addition to being the first time ever the central bank is selling dollars.
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This picture taken on August 23, 2022, shows a view of the exterior of the headquarters of the Bank of Israel, the country’s central bank, in "Kiryat Ben-Gurion." (AFP)
For the first time, the Bank of Israel intends to sell foreign exchange and provide dollar liquidity to local lenders after it allowed the shekel to trade freely as part of an unanticipated move to support markets following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
According to a statement on Monday, as reported by Bloomberg, as much as $30 billion will be sold, which may extend up to $15 billion through swap mechanisms, with the end goal being to smooth out volatility in the currency's exchange rate and provide the necessary liquidity.
At the open and after the launch of Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, "Israel’s" currency shortly erased losses after plunging as much as 2% and then traded 1.6% weaker at 3.9099 per dollar as of this morning.
Its benchmark TA-35 stock index recorded its largest loss in over three years with a decline of 6.4%.
There's always a first
Geoffrey Yu, a currency and macro strategist at BNY Mellon in London, explained: “In circumstances like this, maintaining stability is more important than levels,” adding: “In the short term, there will be some volatility in markets, but we expect this to be manageable. The liquidity support is expected and the Bank of Israel is very much experienced in such matters.”
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This is the first intervention in around two years, in addition to being the first time ever the central bank is selling dollars.
The decision to do so comes amid the deadliest operation on "Israel" in decades, with the occupation's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that the ongoing war will be long and “difficult”.
The Israeli shekel is one of the biggest losers this year, according to data by Bloomberg, among 31 major currencies.
As of this morning, the IOF stated that the points of conflict between the IOF and Hamas remain ongoing in seven to eight locations around the Gaza Strip.
IOF spokesperson Richard Hecht told reporters: "We're still fighting. There are between seven to eight open places around Gaza (where) we have still warriors fighting terrorists", adding: "We thought by yesterday we would have full control. I hope we will by the end of the day."
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported on Sunday that the number of Israeli deaths has risen to 700 and the wounded to 2,000, 350 of whom are in a serious and hopeless condition.
