Israel's forex reserves rise by $6.5 B in December

The Bank of Israel did no tsell any foreign currency in December, while its forex reserves rose $6.5 billion to $204.637 billion last month tonearly an all-time high, it said on Sunday.

The central bank announced a programme to sell up to $30 billion in forex at the outset of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza three months ago to prevent a sharp weakening of the shekel, the first time it had sold foreign currency.

Reserves in November stood at $198.169 billion and rose in December mainly due to a revaluation that increased the reserves by $5.4 billion.


The Bank of Israel has been trying to contain the shekel'svolatility all year and prevent further depreciation, which impacts inflation. The shekel had depreciated 10% in 2023 until the war broke out and then another 5% to weaken to 4.08 per dollar.

To combat the depreciation, the central bank in October sold $8.2 billion of forex and another $338 million in November. In November, with the help of a weaker dollar, the shekel reversed course and has gained 12% since.

It stands at 3.65 at present.