According to Bank of Israel data, the shekel traded at 3.014 to the dollar at the close of Wednesday’s session [GETTY]
Israel’s currency, the shekel (NIS), hit a 30-year high against the US dollar on Wednesday, approaching the symbolic barrier of three shekels to the dollar.
According to Bank of Israel data, the shekel traded at 3.014 to the dollar at the close of Wednesday’s session.
The last time the Israeli currency broke below the three-to-one threshold was in 1995, central bank records show.
Several factors have contributed to the shekel’s appreciation.
“The dollar is weak in general,” Asher Blass, a former chief economist at the Bank of Israel, told AFP, noting that the shekel’s gains against other currencies, such as the euro, have been less pronounced.
The broadly positive outlook for the Israeli economy has also played a role, Blass added.
In February, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that “Israel’s economy has demonstrated notable resilience” despite more than two years of conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
This month, the IMF projected Israeli GDP growth of 3.5 percent in 2026, outpacing the 3.1 percent recorded by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics in 2025.
Military exports may be a significant driver of that growth, alongside other sectors such as space technology, Blass said.
However, the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran in late February, which is currently paused due to a two-week ceasefire, could weigh on the Israeli economy if hostilities resume, and would “require Israel to have very high defence expenditures,” he added.
