The Bank of Israel purchased $2 billion in foreign currency in June but the shekel continues to strengthen.
As the shekel continues to strengthen, Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of June 2015 stood at $88.186 billion, up $2.42 billion from their level at the end of May 2015, the Bank of Israel reports. This figure surpasses the previous record-high foreign currency reserves of $87.628 billion recorded in august 2014.
The increase was the result of foreign currency purchases by the Bank of Israel in June totaling $1.95 billion, of which $260 million was bought as part of the purchase program intended to offset the effects of natural gas production on the exchange rate. There was also an increase of $115 million derived from private sector transactions. Government transfers from abroad boosted the reserves by about $93 million and a revaluation increased them by about $264 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 7, 2015
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