Israel's central bank announced today it will buy more than 12 bln usd over the next two years to hike its reserves and to stabilise the shekel exchange rate.
An official said the Bank of Israel would start buying 25 mln usd each business day and continue doing so over the period.
Commenting on the decision, Finance Minister Ronni Bar-On said it was important 'precisely because of the drop in the dollar.'
Following the announcement, the dollar surged to 3.445 shekels from 3.390 on Wednesday.
Last week, the central bank said it bought dollars in a bid to stop the US currency from slipping below a 10-year low against the shekel. The bank did not say how much, but media reports put the figure at nearly 100 mln usd.
Sean Hyman
Editor/Trader
www.money-trader.com
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