The shekel-dollar exchange rate rose 0.41% in early inter-bank trading today to NIS 3.419/$, after Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer left the interest rate for May unchanged at 3% on Sunday, before the second Passover holiday. The shekel-euro exchange rate fell 0.04% to NIS 4.819/€.
In international markets, the dollar weakened against the euro to $1.452/€ and against the Japanese yen to ¥81.705.
The Bank of Israel is expected to announce new macro-prudential measures to restrain demand in the real estate market, including restricting use of prime interest rate mortgages and capping bank mortgages to 50% of a home's value, forcing buyers to provide half of a home's equity from their own sources.
In global forex markets, traders are waiting for Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to announce the US interest rate tomorrow. He is also expected not to extend the Fed's purchases of US T-bills, marking the end of the expansionist monetary policy. He will convene a special press conference to discuss the importance of the interest rate decision.
