The Monetary Committee of the Bank of Israel has announced the end of its foreign exchange purchasing program, meant to offset the effects of natural gas production on the exchange rate.
The program begin in 2013, against the background of sharp appreciation of the shekel. At that time, the Committee noted that the program would be re-examined upon the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund (“the Fund for Israel’s Citizens”), which at that time was expected to begin operating during 2018. The fund is expected to begin operating in 2019, and according to revised assessments, it is expected to begin investing money abroad in 2020.