Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid tells Bloomberg that the shekel is too strong and he will do everything in his power to weaken it, reports Globes.
“We are going to do everything in our power to make sure we are weakening the shekel. It is too strong,” Lapid told Bloomberg.
Lapid, Globes reports, added that he would work with the new Governor of the Bank of Israel, Karnit Flug, to weaken the shekel. He did not say what the exchange rate should be.
Lapid was vague about the actions he planned to take, following the failure of repeated interventions in the foreign currency market by the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance failed to stem the strengthening of the shekel for any length of time. “I am not going to say what we are going to do,” he said.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
with friends like this who needs enemies
What is he nuts? For years theyve been trying to stabilize the shekal and finally when they suceed they want to weaken it?!?!?!
A strong Shekel is good for the Israeli consumer because they get more bang for the “buck”.
A strong shekel is bad for Israeli exporters, and for the many olim like myself whose primary income is from the US. I think Lapid’s got this right. Let’s not forget that several years ago when the shekel was getting too strong Stanley Fischer had the Bank of Israel buy millions of dollars in order to weaken the shekel. ??? ?? ??? ??? ????
Yeah, but bad for Lapid & his ilk that invested otherwise. Wake up to the thieves in our knesset!
A strong shekel is not good for exporters and those who deal with dollars (keep in mind all the dollars that come into this country!)
For once Lapid is correct on something, and the low information commenters are trashing him. A too-strong shekel makes Israeli exports unaffordable to the rest of the world. It also harms Israel’s tourism industry along with the small number of American expats who still are paid in dollars.
As long as inflation stays under control
a weaker shekel is preferable.