Israel's forex reserves back on the rise

2 weeks ago 45

ARTICLE AD BOX

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of November 2024 rose to $217.100 billion, an increase of $1.026 billion from their level at the end of October, the Bank of Israel reports.

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of November 2024 rose to $217.100 billion, an increase of $1.026 billion from their level at the end of October, the Bank of Israel reports. The level of the reserves relative to GDP at the end of November was 41.7%.

The increase was the result of a revaluation that increased the reserves by about $2.255 billion. This increase was partly offset by the government’s foreign exchange activities totaling about $1.111 billion.

Israel's foreign exchange reserves have risen from $198.169 billion at the end of November 2023 to $217.100 billion at the end of last month, peaking at a record $220.377 billion at the end of September 2024.

Despite announcing in October 2023 at the start of the war, a plan to sell up to $30 billion in foreign currency to support the shekel, the Bank of Israel again did not sell any foreign currency in October 2024, and has only sold $8.5 billion in foreign currency since the start of the war, most of it in October and November 2023.

The near record foreign exchange reserves could provide a valuable cushion should the geopolitical situation escalate further and affect the strength of the Israeli currency.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 9, 2024

Tali Bogdanovsky using Adobe Firefly