Shekel Drops Against Dollar Amid Bank of Israel Cuts Rates

The Israeli shekel stayed down against the U.S. dollar on Monday after the Bank of Israel lowered interest rates by a quarter-percentage point to 2.25%, citing declining inflation pressures.

The rate cut was as expected by analysts at Credit Suisse. The bank’s research department expected the country’s economy to grow around the 3% level, while global growth has slowed more.

“The level of economic risk in the world due to developments in Europe remained high, and with it the concern of negative effects on the domestic economy,” the bank said in a statement.

The dollar USDILS +0.52% rose to buy 3.9161 shekels.