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Bank of Israel bought $25b foreign currency in H1 2021

Israel Materials 8 July 2021 12:42 (UTC +04:00)
Bank of Israel bought $25b foreign currency in H1 2021

The Bank of Israel purchased $3.166 billion in foreign currency in June 2021, boosting the country's foreign exchange reserves through the $200 billion barrier for the first time-ever, Trend reports with reference to Globes.

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of June 2021 stood at $200.175 billion, up $1.825 billion from their level at the end of the previous month, the Bank of Israel reports. The reserves represent 48.8% of GDP.

This means that the Bank of Israel bought $25 billion in foreign currency in the first half of 2021. In January the Bank of Israel announced that it would buy $30 billion in 2021 to moderate the strengthening of the shekel and assist exporters. However, the Bank of Israel has since clarified that the 2021 foreign currency purchasing program will likely exceed $30 billion.

The purchases have kept the shekel stable at about NIS 3.25/$ for the past six months.

The increase in the foreign currency reserves in June was the result of foreign exchange purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling $3.166 billion partly offset by a revaluation that decreased the reserves by $1.057 billion, government transfers to abroad totaling $155 million and private sector transfers of $129 million.

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