Following the cabinet’s approval of the budget for 2009-2010, the shekel-dollar exchange rate rose 0.95 percent to NIS 4.148/$, and the shekel-euro exchange rate climbed 0.5 percent to NIS 5.6348/€. Analysts attributed the shekel’s weakening to Wall Street closing lower and the dollar strengthening on global markets.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to show a rise of 1-1.2 percent for April, when figures are reported tomorrow. Capital market sources do not expect the April reading to significantly influence the Bank of Israel's monetary policy, and the interest rate, currently at a historic low of 0.5 percent is not expected to be cut further. CPI is a measure of the change in the average price of goods and services purchased by households, and one of the most closely watched national economic statistics. The percent change in the CPI is a measure of inflation.