The Israeli shekel reached its strongest level in more than three years against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, trading at 3.212 shekels per dollar in afternoon inter-bank trading, according to Israeli financial daily Globes.
The Hebrew financial news site reported that the currency’s strength reflects several factors, including anticipated U.S. interest rate cuts that widen the gap between dollar and shekel rates, making Israeli currency more attractive to investors. Wall Street’s continued gains and improved Israeli fiscal data also contributed to the strengthening.
Bank analysts cited robust defense exports, increased foreign venture capital investments in Israeli startups and hedging activities by institutional investors as fundamental drivers of the “strong shekel” trend.
The Bank of Israel set the representative shekel-dollar rate at 3.210 Monday, down 0.588% from Friday. Against the euro, the shekel also strengthened to near three-year highs.
