1. English Edition

Israeli Central Bank to Buy $3.5B in 2014 to Offset Gas Impact

Israeli Central Bank to Buy $3.5B in 2014 to Offset Gas Impact
dj
Τετ, 2 Οκτωβρίου 2013 - 19:21
The Bank of Israel said it will purchase $3.5 billion in foreign currency during 2014 as part of its program to offset the impact of local natural gas production on the country's current account and exchange rate.
The Bank of Israel said it will purchase $3.5 billion in foreign currency during 2014 as part of its program to offset the impact of local natural gas production on the country's current account and exchange rate.

The bank initially outlined the purchase program in May, when increased gas production sharply pushed up the value of the shekel. It then said it would buy about $2 billion by the end of 2013, but didn't specify how much it would buy in subsequent years.

The Bank of Israel plans to buy foreign currency to offset the effects of gas production on the exchange rate through at least 2018, when a sovereign wealth fund is scheduled to start operating.

In March, Israel began producing natural gas from its offshore Tamar reserve, which contains about 9 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to meet Israel 's needs for decades. Another larger reserve, Leviathan, is scheduled to begin production in 2017, and Israel plans to export some of that gas, but has not yet signed any final agreements with potential buyers.

The start of production from Tamar strengthened the shekel partly because Israeli companies no longer needed to buy dollars in order to purchase energy from abroad. But economists also attribute the stronger shekel to speculative traders capitalizing on the interest rate differential between Israel and other larger economies, like the U.S. and euro zone.

In addition to purchasing foreign currency, the central bank has intervened in the market several times since March to buy dollars to help curb the appreciation of the shekel. The bank has recently cut interest rates, citing the strength of the shekel which could threaten Israel 's export-dependent economy.

Διαβάστε ακόμα