Fifty-Basis Point Israeli Central Bank Rate Hike Exceeds Street Estimates
February 20, 2023
At 4.25%, the new Bank of Israel policy rate level is the highest in 172 month, and the latest Israeli CPI inflation rate (5.4%) is at its highest level in 171 months. With today’s 50-basis point increase, the Bank of Israel joins the National Bank of Serbia as ones that have already implemented a pair of rate hikes in this still young year of 2023. The previous two moves were also by a half percentage point, and the new rate will be 415 basis points above the pandemic low of 0.10% maintained from April 2020 until April 2022. A released statement from the Monetary Committee cites above-target inflation, elevated core inflation, robust Israeli growth, and the economy’s tight labor market for why more rate hikes are likely to become necessary.
Copyright 2023, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: Bank of Israel
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